180 THE HAWFINCH, OB GROSBEAK. [Jan. 



two Hawfinches in a Donglas Fir-tree on the lawn, in the month of 

 April, 1867, and he speaks of them as not being rare at that time in 

 the Selborne district, though they certainly were so in the time of 

 Gilbert White. Perhaps the planting of their favourite tree, the 

 Hornbeam, may have drawn them to the neighbourhood. Mr- 

 Aitchison, a naturalist of Northumberlandshire, writes, in a local 

 paper, that the Hawfinch is a comparatively rare bird in the north of 

 England ; * but,' he adds, ' it would seem to be more plentiful with us 

 in winter than in summer, its numbers being probably augmented by 

 a migration from the more northern parts of Europe at the commence- 

 ment of winter ; hence it is said to arrive here about the month of 

 October, and to leave again about the middle of April. We are not 

 aware that its nest has ever yet been met with in any part of 

 Glendale ; and the bird has only been a few times observed in our 

 district.' Mr. Selby records his having seen a specimen of the Haw- 

 finch at Alnwick Castle, which was shot near Hulm Abbey many 

 years ago. A gentleman also obtained two specimens (a male and 

 female) in EUingham Wood, in the month of May, 1872. They had 

 been ruthlessly destroyed at the commencement of the breeding 

 season, for no other purpose whatever than the gratification of an 

 idle curiosity ; and thus the chance of a very interesting addition to 

 the birds of the district was lost. Mr. J. Hancock is another witness 

 to the occurrence of the Hawfinch both in Northumberland and 

 Durham. A nest has not yet been reported, but it is not at all 

 impossible. Mr. Aitchison thinks that the bird may sometimes 

 nest in the more deeply wooded x^arts of either county. 



It is common in Germany, Norway, Sweden, and Eussia, and" 

 numerous in some parts of France. In Paris you may sometimes 

 find it on sale, caged, in large numbers. Shy as it naturally 

 is, it soon becomes familiar as a pet, and in captivity will use its 

 long beak freely in self-defence. 



As some persons may still be unfamiliar with this shy bird, I 

 may describe it as resembling in form and figure a particularly stout 

 Bullfinch. In colouring also when in full plumage, it is almost as 

 distinct as the Bullfinch, with a beautiful big head, fawn-coloured 

 feathers on the crown, nape of neck, and upper tail coverts, neck 

 greyish, back chestnut brown, wings black, with the greater wing 

 coverts dull white. 



The colours of the female are less brilliant than those of the 

 male, and the young of the year are much paler than the adults. As 

 they advance in age, some reddish feathers appear irregularly about 

 the lower part of the chest, and the upper parts deepen in colour, 

 assuming a tarnished brown spotted with tints of dullish yellow. 

 Young or old, the bird may be always known by its prodigious beak. 



