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, 



