Notes on the Hawfinch. 449 



stones, laurel-berries, &c. and in summer make great havoc amongst 

 green peas in gardens in the vicinity of the forest. 



About the middle of April they pair, and in a week or two com- 

 mence nidification. The situation of the nest is various, but is 

 most commonly placed in an old scrubby whitethorn bush, often in 

 a very exposed situation ; they also frequently build on the hori- 

 zontal arms of large oaks, the heads of pollard hornbeams, in hollies, 

 and occasionally in fir trees in plantations, the elevation of the nest 

 varying from five to twenty-five or thirty feet. 



The most correct description of the nest which I have seen is in 

 Latham's Synopsis. It is there said to be composed of the dead twigs 

 of oak, honeysuckle, &c. intermixed with pieces of grey lichen ; the 

 quantity of this last material varies much in different nests, but it 

 is never absent : in some it is only very sparingly placed among the 

 twigs, in others, the greater part of the nest is composed of it ; the 

 lining consists of fine roots and a little hair. 



The whole fabric is very loosely put together, and it requires 

 considerable care to remove it from its situation uninjured. 



The eggs vary in number from four to six, and are of a pale olive 

 green, spotted with black, and irregularly streaked with dusky. 

 Some specimens are far less marked than others, and I have seen 

 some of a uniform pale green. 



The young are hatched about the third week in May, and as soon 

 as they are able .to provide for themselves, they unite with the old 

 birds, in flocks varying in numbers from fifteen or twenty to one or 

 even two hundred individuals. 



In this manner they remain through the winter, feeding on the 

 hornbeam seeds which have fallen to the ground, and only separate 

 at the approach of the breeding season. 



I believe the male has no song worth notice : in warm days in 

 March I have heard them, when a number have been sitting to- 

 gether on a tree, uttering a few notes in a soft tone, bearing some 

 resemblance to those of the bullfinch. 



The plumage of the young bears considerable resemblance to 

 that of the young Greenfinch : the throat is bright yellow ; head, 

 neck, and upper parts olive-brown ; the under parts paler, each 

 feather tipped with brown. 



In winter the bill is a pinkish horn-colour, but becomes deep 

 blue in the breeding season. 



Although so common in this neighbourhood, the hawfinch is but 

 little known, which is to be attributed to its shy and retired habits, 

 and I have little doubt it is found in most parts of the kingdom 



