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 
