FRINGILLINE, 171 
THE HAWFINCH. 
CoccoTHRAUSTES VULGARIS, Pallas. 
The Hawfinch is a bird of shy and retiring habits, and unless 
attention be attracted by the shrill and—when once heard—unmis- 
takable whistle, its presence may easily escape detection. “There 
can be no doubt it has been steadily increasing in numbers during 
the last fifty years, and, though still local in distribution, the nest 
has been found in every county in England, excepting Cornwall, 
even as far north as the Lake district and Northumberland, though 
there the bird becomes rare. From Worcester and Hereford it has 
now spread to Brecon, where it breeds, but in the rest of Wales it 
is still uncommon. In spite of the extension of the metropolis, the 
Hawfinch has not quite ceased to nest in Middlesex, and it is com- 
paratively common in some parts of Norfolk, Suffolk, Essex, Herts, 
Bucks, Berks and Surrey, while in Kent it may almost be called 
abundant. In Scotland, a young bird obtained near Edinburgh 
was, in the opinion of Mr. W. E. Clarke, bred in the neighbour- 
hood, and the species has been taken in winter in the Solway 
district, while said to have been seen in Sutherland. To Ireland 
this Finch is only a rare and irregular wanderer in winter, and has 
never been obtained at any of the lighthouses. 
Even to the south of Scandinavia the Hawfinch is only an 
occasional visitor, but in Russia it has been found nesting as far north 
as the St. Petersburg district Over Central Europe, in suitable 
