At 
| 
common winter visitor till the early spring of 1870. On 
April 4th of that year I noticed a small flock of this 
species haunting some old thorn-bushes on our lawn ; 
and although we could not discover a nest, in spite of 
exhaustive and protracted search during the succeeding 
four or five weeks, one pair of Hawfinches at least 
brought off a brood not far off, as I constantly observed 
young and old birds in our kitchen-garden in the fol- 
lowing months of July and August. During the very 
severe weather of December 1870 and January 1871, 
we were visited by very large flocks of Hawfinches ; 
and since that time Hawfinches have become more or 
less common residents with us, a pair or two nesting 
annually about our pleasure-grounds and in many other 
neighbouring localities ; in fact, the bird is now only 
too well known to gardeners in all parts of our county 
from its depredations amongst the green peas as they 
begin to swell in the pods. 
The old Hawfinch is a shy and wary bird, with the 
instinct of self-preservation very fully developed ; and 
although the nest is occasionally placed in a conspicuous 
position, the remarkable call-note is rarely to be heard 
during the nesting-season. In the autumn and winter 
months the food of the Hawfinch consists principally of 
beech-mast, the seeds of the horn-beam, and the kernels 
of hips, haws, yew, and other berries. I have fre- 
quently noticed that these birds as a rule reject the 
pulp or flesh of these fruits, and seem to care only for 
the seeds or kernels, few of which can withstand the 
formidable instrument with which nature has provided 
this Finch. When not engaged in the search for food, 
