THE HAWFINCH. 177 



Until late years ornithologists described the Hawfinch as merely an 

 occasional winter visitant to our island, but it is now known to be a 

 permanent resident in several of the southern and midland counties. 

 Undoubtedly great additions are made to the numbers of our own 

 birds by the arrival of flocks from other countries at the commencement 

 of winter. Individuals, probably in most instances from these foreign 

 flocks, have been captured in Yorkshire, Lancashire, Cumberland, and 

 also in Ireland. One or two have been killed in Dumfriesshire, in 

 Scotland. In all the temperate and southern countries of Europe this 

 bird is to be met with; it also occurs, though more rarely, in Sweden, 

 Denmark, Siberia, and Russia. 



As may be imagined from the thickness and clumsiness of his shape, 

 the Hawfinch is by no means an active or sprightly bird; when upon 

 the ground his small legs seem scarcely strong enough to support his 

 body, and he moves but slowly, but upon the branches his movements 

 are more rapid. His flight is described as e swift, undulatory, and 

 noisy, owing to the rapid motion of his wings/ He frequently perches 

 on the topmost branch of a tree, keeping a sharp look-out, and con- 

 cealing himself most artfully amid the foliage if any intruder appears. 

 He is so extremely shy and wary that the collector has the greatest 

 difficulty in approaching within gunshot, and it is almost impossible to 

 learn anything of his manners without the aid of a glass. 



These birds feed chiefly on the larger kinds of seeds and berries. 

 They frequently destroy large numbers of plums and cherries for the 

 sake of the kernels, cracking the stones by means of their powerful 

 bills with such force as to produce a noise that may be heard at the 

 distance of thirty paces. They do considerable damage amongst the 

 green peas both in gardens and fields. In the early part of the year 

 they have been observed catching insects on the wing, especially the 

 common cockchafer. 



The nests of these birds have been found in a variety of situations; 

 on the horizontal branches of large oaks, in thorn bushes and holly 

 trees, and among the branches of horse-chesnut, fir, and apple trees; 

 the height at which they were placed varying from five to thirty feet. 

 They are usually made of small twigs, such as those of the oak and 

 honeysuckle, intermingled with pieces of grey lichen. The eggs are 

 from four to six in number, of a pale olive green, spotted with brownish 

 black, and irregularly streaked with dusky. The young are hatched 

 towards the end of May, and are fed by their parents until their 

 beaks are strong enough to crack the hard-shelled seeds upon which 

 they subsist. "As soon as they are able to provide for themselves," 

 says Mr. Doubleday, "they unite with the old birds in flocks, varying 



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