HAWFINCH. 165 



mentioned a clutch at Danby, in 1863, of a warm shade of 

 white, resembhng the hue of Dippers' or Sand Martins' eggs. 



Of local names, Green Linnet and Green Lenny are general ; 

 Greeny is in use in Cleveland and the East Riding ; Green 

 Grosbeak was the name used byTunstall in 1783 ; Featherpoke 

 has been noted at Newsome, near Huddersfield ; and Bighead 

 at Beverley. 



HAWFINCH. 



Coccothraustes vulgaris {Pallas). 



Resident, local ; breeds regularly in some parts. Greatly increasing 

 in numbers and extending its northward range. 



The earliest Yorkshire reference to this species appears 

 to be in Leyland's Halifax Catalogue, 1828, where it is stated 

 to be " very rare." 



Thomas Allis, in 1844, wrote of it thus : — 



Coccothraustes viUgavis. — Hawfinch — Is a rare winter visitant near 

 Sheffield ; one or two have been taken near Halifax ; it occurs rarely 

 at Killingbeck near Leeds, and near York, as well as in the neigh- 

 bourhood of Barnsley, and is very rare about Huddersfield ; eight 

 specimens were shot near Doncaster in 1843, and are now all in the 

 possession of Hugh Reid, bird-stuffer of that place. Arthur Strick- 

 land observes that a few of these birds are generally killed every 

 winter in the neighbourhood of Bridlington, but they have not been 

 known to remain over the summer in that district. 



Although formerly considered to be rather rare, the 

 Hawfinch, while somewhat local, has vastly increased of late 

 years and extended its range northward. Whatever may 

 be the cause of this increase, whether it is to be attributed 

 to the protection afforded by law, or due solely to natural 

 causes, the fact remains that the bird is now resident in many 

 places where it used to be merely a winter visitant, or perhaps 

 its presence was unsuspected or overlooked, possibly the 

 latter in some cases, for it is of a shy disposition, and may be 

 existent in a locality, without being known, until close 



