202 U.S. NATIONAL MUSEUM BULLETIN 23 7 part i 



In spring they feed on fresh buds, and in summer on insects, chiefly 

 beetles and larvae." Kiyosu (1943) is a little more specific: "It 

 lives chiefly on vegetable food, preferring from autumn to spring 

 the fruits and seeds of Aphananthe aspera (Ulmaceae), Cinnamonum 

 brevisfolium (Lauraceae), Rhus sylvestris (Anacardiaceae) , Quercus 

 aliena (Fagaceae), Rhodocarpus macrophylla (Coniferae), Staphyla, 

 Bumalda ( Staphyleaceae) , and Styrax japonica (Styracaceae) , while in 

 summer it eats Prunus serrulaia or Prunus fruits of Persica of the 

 family Smygdalaceae. In breeding season it feeds on insects, mainly 

 Curcurionidae butterfly larvae." Y. Nakamura (1941) observed it 

 eating the fruits of Taxus cuspidata and Viscum coloratum, and 

 it has also been reported as feeding on the buds, fruits, or seeds of Cel- 

 tis sinensis, Devizia sieboldiana, and Cryptotanenia japonica. 



The Japanese regard the hawfinch as a "bad bird" because of its 

 occasional depredations to upland field crops. It shows a particular 

 fondness for the red adzuki beans, a popular and widely grown staple 

 used to make the sweet soups which are a gourmet's delight and to 

 color the "red rice" so essential to all holiday feasting. Its appetite 

 for this legume has earned it such local vernacular names as "bean- 

 mouth," "bean-cracker," "bean-spinner," and "bean-shrike." T. 

 Nibe (1918) reports from Akita prefecture in northwestern Honshu, 

 "A few hawfinches came daily to feed on the bean plants laid on frames 

 to dry. The birds did not seem unusually abundant, and seldom were 

 more than 10 seen at a time, but they stayed there aU day. Their 

 damage to the beans was estimated as about 15%-20%." 



Behavior. — The general behavior of the Japanese hawfinch seems 

 from the available literature and from my own observations to be 

 identical to that of the European form, as summed up so excellently 

 in Tucker's account in "Handbook of British Birds" (Witherby, 1938). 



"On ground hops rather heavily with erect carriage, or moves with 

 highly peculiar almost parrot-like waddle (J. D. Wood). Likes to 

 perch on topmost twigs of tall trees and feeds by preference in upper 

 branches, but also often on ground, on fallen seeds under trees, etc. 

 Flight quick, with rapid wingbeats; except over short distances mark- 

 edly undulating * * *. Birds passing from wood to wood habitually 

 rise to 200-1,000 ft. and are frequently picked up merely by hearing 

 note (E. M. Nicholson). Roosts in woods, etc. in thick foliage of tree- 

 tops or in winter sometimes in high thick hedges, etc. (Naimian)." 



Voice. — The hawfinch is a fairly quiet bird on the wintering grounds 

 and in migration, but usually betrays its presence by its short, sharp, 

 rather metallic call note. Even diu"ing the breeding season it is not 

 considered a good singer. Kiyosu (1943) sjdlabizes its notes as "chi- 

 chi, chi-chi, cho-cho, metallic and sharp. In breeding season it whistles 

 like a human." 



