JAPANESE HAWFINCH 203 



Field marks. — Japanese hawfinches appear in the field as heavily 

 built, grayish-brown birds, with white patches on the wing coverts 

 which are conspicuous in flight. Their somewhat labored, undulating 

 flight and their distinctive metalhc call notes identify them at a dis- 

 tance. Their enormous, stout bills, and large, thick-set heads differ- 

 entiate them at once from all other palearctic fringillids except the 

 eastern Asaitic grosbeaks of the genus Eophona, from which, however, 

 they are distinguishable at a glance by their chunkier, darker appear- 

 ance and their much shorter tails. 



Captivity. — Hawfinches are frequently offered for sale by the Jap- 

 anese live bird dealers, but they are not overly popular as cage birds 

 because neither their plumage nor their song is outstanding or appeal- 

 ing. Their chief vhtue as an avicultural subject is their hardiness. 

 To quote Yamashina (1933): 



"This bird is neither very beautiful nor a good singer, so few are 

 kept for pets. But it is very easy to feed, for its constitution is very 

 strong, and all it needs is Japanese or Itahan millet, and insects occa- 

 sionally in summer. It is not advisable to give it much fat, otherwise 

 it will grow too heavy. Constant moderate exercise and bath water 

 are needed. This species has a habit of giving food to other birds' 

 chicks, bill to bill, in cages, which has been observed several times. 

 Nevertheless the raising of young removed from the wild nest is said 

 to be very difficult." 



Captive hawfinches are used commonly as decoys by the Japanese 

 professional bird netters, who condition them to sing in the autumn by 

 reversing their sex cycle. The birds are kept on a bland carbohydrate 

 diet in a dark place all spring. Conditioning starts in midsummer by 

 the gi-adual addition of fish meal to their food. The cages are brought 

 out into a lighter place, and as autumn approaches, kept under electric 

 lights in the evening so the birds will have a longer day of activity, 

 and will eat more of the protein-rich food. By the time the southward 

 flight of wild birds arrives in October and November, the decoys are in 

 full song and ready for use. (Cf. Austin, 1947.) 



Enemies. — The Japanese hawfinch is undoubtedly preyed upon by 

 the faster bird-eating hawks just as is its European relative, and in the 

 breeding season it must be equally subject to the depredations of 

 squuTels, snakes, and other nest robbers, but no details are available. 



Its chief enemy in the Orient is man. Large numbers are kiUed 

 annually in Japan for food, taken in the mist nets (cf. Austin, 1947) 

 with other smaU migrant birds, chiefly in October and November in 

 the highlands, and lm"ed to the nets by the singing of captive decoys. 

 The foUowing statistics on the catches of this species reported by 

 Japanese netters to the Ministry of Agriciflture and Forestry amply 

 illustrate its irregularity of winter movement: 



