HAJVK 411 



the hawthorn (Crataegus oxyacaiitha) forms its chief food, the Loxia 



coccothraustes of Linnaeus, and the Coccothraustes vulgaris of modern 



ornithologists, one of the largest of the FiNCH Family ( Fringillidae) ^ 



and found over nearly the whole of Europe, in 



Africa north of the Atlas, and in Asia from 



Palestine to Japan. It was formerly thought 



to be only an autumnal or Avinter-visitor to 



Britain, but later experience has proved that, 3- 



though there may very likely be an immigra- '^^ 



tion in the fall of the year, it breeds in nearly "' 



all the English counties to Yorkshire, and , ,^^Z^'^^^' ^ 



P ' (After Swamson.) 



abundantly m those nearest to London. There 

 is also good reason for supposing that it is yearly extending its 

 range in the British Islands. In coloration it bears some resem- 

 blance to a Chaffinch, but its much larger size and enormous 

 beak make it easily recognizable, while on closer inspection the 

 singular bill-hook form of some of its wing-feathers will be found 

 to be very remarkable. Though not uncommonly frequenting 

 gardens and orchards, in which as well as in woods it builds its 

 nest, it is exceedingly shy in its habits, so as seldom to afford 

 opportunities for observation. As the genus Coccothraustes is now 

 commonly restricted, it includes only two species,- — ^the Japanese 

 form, at one time regarded as distinct, being considered by later 

 authorities to be inseparable from that of the continent — but 

 examples from North-Western India have been described by Dr. 

 Sharpe {Proc. Zool. Sac. 1886, p. 97) as forming a second. 



HAWK (Anglo-Saxon, Hafoc), a word of indefinite meaning, 

 being often used to signif}' all diurnal Birds -of -Prey which are 

 neither Vultures nor Eagles, and again more exclusively for 

 those of the remainder which are not Buzzards, Falcons, 

 Harriers, or Kites. Even with this restriction it is compre- 

 hensive enough (for the definition of these groups is uncertain), 

 and will include more than a hundred species, which have been 

 arrayed in genera varying in number from a dozen to above a 

 score, according to the fancy of the systematizer. Speaking gener- 

 ally. Hawks have been characterized by possessing comparatively 

 short wings and long legs, a bill which begins to decurve directly 

 from the cere (or soft bare " skin that covers its base), and has the 

 cutting edges of its maxilla (or upper mandible) sinuated^ but never 

 notched. If the word be taken with the limitation of signifying 

 only the groups to which the Gos-Hawk and Sparrow -Hawk 

 with their immediate allies belong, this is true enough, and then to 

 these characters may be added others, structurally perhaps of less 



^ In one form, Nisoides, which on that account has been generically separated, 

 they are said to be perfectly straight. 



