A heavyset finch of northern coniferous forests, the Evening Grosbeak adds a splash of color to winter bird feeders every few years, when large flocks depart their northern breeding grounds en masse to seek food to the south. The yellow-bodied, dusky-headed male has an imposing air thanks to his massive bill and fierce eyebrow stripe. The female is more subtly marked, with golden highlights on her soft gray plumage. This declining species is becoming uncommon, particularly in the eastern United States.

Evening Grosbeaks are large, heavyset finches with very thick, powerful, conical bills. They have a thick neck, full chest, and relatively short tail.

Adult male Evening Grosbeaks are yellow and black birds with a prominent white patch in the wings. They have dark heads with a bright-yellow stripe over the eye. Females and immatures are mostly gray, with white-and-black wings and a greenish-yellow tinge to the neck and flanks. The bill is pale ivory on adult males and greenish-yellow on females.

These are social birds that are often found in flocks, particularly in winter. They forage in treetops for insect larvae during the summer; in winter they eat seeds, buds, berries, and small fruits.

They make very erratic movements south into the continental United States in some winters, when they can become common at backyard feeders. Away from backyards, they winter in forests and feed in both deciduous and coniferous trees, often at higher elevations. They breed in spruce-fir, pine-oak, pinyon-juniper, and aspen forests of northern North America and the mountains of the West.