Want more Grosbeak content? Sierra Foothills Audubon has a
spectrogram-rich public talk on Evening Grosbeaks, by UC Davis biologist
Thomas Hahn, on our YouTube channel.
Jul 19, 2025
This public talk – “Evening Grosbeaks of the Sierra Nevada and the West” –
was presented on June 25, 2025, at the monthly meeting of the Sierra
Foothills Audubon Society, in Nevada City, California. About the Talk
Evening Grosbeaks are showy finches of the sub-family Carduelinae—a group
that includes many familiar western songbirds such as goldfinches, house
finches, crossbills, rosy-finches and siskins. Their white, black and gold
plumage makes them stand out at a feeder or along the gravelly side of the
road as you drive into the Sierra. About the Speaker Thomas Hahn, Ph.D., is
a field biologist who has been studying western finches since he was a
graduate student at the University of Washington in the late 1980s and
early 90s. He is a professor at University of California, Davis, in the
Department of Neurology, Physiology and Behavior. His research interests
include environmental regulation of avian annual cycles of behavior,
physiology and morphology, and behavioral and physiological responses of
birds to unpredictable environmental events. He is an authority on avian
communication, especially use of heterospecific mimicry in song, and
learned non-song vocalizations.
Sylvia
YouTube editor for Sierra Foothills Audubon
> *From:* <peninsula-birding...> <peninsula-birding...> *On
> Behalf Of *Alvaro Jaramillo via groups.io
> *Sent:* Wednesday, September 30, 2026 5:19 AM
> *To:* <kforward...>; 'Peninsula Birding' <peninsula-birding...>
> >
> *Subject:* Re: [pen-bird] Evening Grosbeaks at Purisima Creek Redwoods
> OSP 9/29
>
>
>
> Kent
>
>
>
> Looking at the spectrograms, it looks like this is a type 1 Evening
> Grosbeak. You could change the ID to that specifically. This is a
> population from the Pacific Northwest and BC/Alberta. Not the type you have
> in the Cascades/Sierra. This is interesting as it suggests that the
> “montane invasion” birds may be coming from various different places, so
> what is affecting Evening Grosbeaks may not be the same thing as what is
> influencing Pinyon Jays.
>
>
>
> Find out more here:
>
> https://ebird.org/news/evening-grosbeak-call-types-of-north-america >
>
>
> map of types here:
>
>
> https://blog.aba.org/2012/12/five-species-of-evening-grosbeakslets-find-out-together.html >
>
>
> Alvaro Jaramillo
>
> <alvaro...>
>
> www.alvarosadventures.com
>
>
>
> *From:* <peninsula-birding...> <peninsula-birding...> *On
> Behalf Of *Kent Forward via groups.io
> *Sent:* Tuesday, September 29, 2026 11:22 PM
> *To:* Peninsula Birding <peninsula-birding...>
> *Subject:* [pen-bird] Evening Grosbeaks at Purisima Creek Redwoods OSP
> 9/29
>
>
>
> Today while birding the riparian area of lower Purisima I heard Evening
> Grosbeaks! I wasn't able to obtain a visual. I have been studying the
> vocalizations of some of the rarer birds partaking in the current large
> irruption of montane birds to our area so when I heard these vocalizations
> it reminded me of Evening Grosbeak, so I got Merlin going and it concurred,
> and also I got feedback from several skilled ear-birders in the affirmative
> for Evening Grosbeak! This was in the lower parking lot at 37.437585,
> -122.370610
>
>
>
> https://ebird.org/checklist/S397598170 >
>
>
> Happy migration and montane irruption birding!
>
> Kent Forward
>
> El Granada
>
>
