Its thick yellow bill stands out. It feeds on seeds and fruit in woodlands and orchards of East Asia.
Its thick yellow bill is a conspicuous field mark.
Chinese Grosbeaks were recorded feeding on fruit in a coastal seawall forest in China. Birds visiting the native vine Cayratia japonica and the alien plant Phytolacca americana were observed in autumn 2018 and 2019. During 85 hours of observation, researchers recorded 13 Chinese Grosbeak visits to Cayratia and four visits to Phytolacca.
The observed grosbeaks swallowed Cayratia fruit and pecked at Phytolacca fruit. Their mean feeding time was about 21 seconds and 10 seconds, respectively. They ate an average of 1.7 Cayratia fruits and 4.5 Phytolacca fruits per visit. At this site, the birds' feeding behaviour differed between the two plant species.
An extinction-risk assessment has not been added yet.
At one Chinese coastal forest, Chinese Grosbeaks made 13 recorded visits to Cayratia and four to Phytolacca. They swallowed the native vine's fruit and pecked at the alien plant's fruit.