themselves, they unite with the old birds, in flocks varying in number from fifteen or twenty to one hundred,
or even to two hundred individuals. In this manner they remain through the winter, feeding on the hornbeam-
seeds which have fallen to the ground, the newly cracked shells of which are to be seen in abundance at their
haunts • the birds 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 together on a tree, uttering
a few notes in a soft tone, bearing some resemblance to those of the Bullfinch.”
So close does this bird approach to London, that Mr. Yarrell mentions he has known it to be killed at
Notting Hill; and Mr. Jesse states that it breeds at Roehampton. My own acquaintance with it has been
chiefly in the charming woods of the Duchess of Sutherland, at Cliveden in Buckinghamshire, and the contiguous
beautiful wardens of Formosa. As at Epping, the bird may here be seen at all seasons, but in far less
numbers. I might mention many other localities where it may be found, such as the pleasure-grounds of
W. Wells, Esq., at Redleaf in Kent, Windsor Great Park, &c.; but it will be sufficient to say that wherever
there are trees bearing its favourite food, there will the bird be found, especially in the midland counties of
England.
The Hawfinch is a stout, thick-set., and inelegant bird, its inelegance being rendered more conspicuous by
the enormous size of its bill and head when compared with that of its body and short square tail; still Nature
has attempted some degree of ornamentation in the purplish-green colouring and in the truncate and partially
curled form of its secondaries; the form of these feathers at their extremities is indeed very remarkable, and
not to be seen in any other bird. It bears confinement well, and, according to Bechstein, “ will feed upon rape and
hcmp-seed directly they are caught, and should be chiefly fed upon those seeds, with fruit and green food.”
Montagu states that even in winter, during mild weather, he has heard the Hawfinch sing sweetly, in low and
plaintive notes; and Mr. Selby thinks it probable that it sings well in the pairing-season; but Bechstein says,
“ For my part I cannot endure the unpleasant shrill call of its zip, which it incessantly utters; nevertheless its
song, which consists of a light jingle with some shrill and harsh notes like irrr, is agreeable enough to many
amateurs.”
The sexes, when adult, vary in the colouring of their plumage, and they are also subject to a seasonal
change in the hue of the bill, that organ being nearly white in winter, while in summer it is of a rich blue,
sometimes uniform, at others relieved by a grey band round the base of the mandibles; the rich blue colouring
is common to both sexes, but the under mandible of the female is frequently white, while the upper one is
blue; the legs are either fleshy white or reddish flesh-colour, and the irides are greyish white.
The young Hawfinch, just before it is able to fly, has the bill light olive inclining to pea-green, with a tinge
of orange at the base, the legs purplish brown, and the irides dark brown. At this age the wings and tail
have begun to assume their adult colouring; but the plumage of the body has a very mottled appearance, a
considerable amount of grey being mixed up with the commencement of the colours of maturity; the cheeks
and throat are stained with yellow, and the tips of the breast-feathers are marked with brown. A young
bird in this state was taken in Mr. De Vitre’s garden of Formosa, in Berkshire, on the lltli of June, 1859.
The young of the first year, when fully as large as the adult, has the bill of a nearly uniform light-purplish
flesh-colour, the irides brown, and the tarsi and toes pinky-red. The assumption of the adult colouring has
further advanced, but the body still wears a mottled appearance; the black feathers of the throat begin to
show, and the cheeks and breast are of a still richer yellow. A specimen thus coloured was taken on the
5th of August.
The male has the forehead light greyish buff gradually deepening into the rich chestnut of the crown, sides
of the head, and occiput; at the back of the neck a broad collar of grey; back, scapularies, and lesser wing-
coverts deep chocolate-brown; lower part of the back and upper tail-coverts cinnamon-brown; frontal half
of the greater wing-coverts greyish white, the posterior half pale brown; spurious wing and primaries deep
black, their inner webs crossed near the middle by a broad mark of pure white, and the third and fourth
glossed with green at the tip of the same web; secondaries purplish green, their inner webs crossed near the
middle with a broad mark of pure white; tail black, largely tipped on the inner webs with white, the black of
the apical portion of the outer web gradually becoming paler as the feathers approach the centre; lores, a
narrow line down each side of the bill, and a large patch on the centre of the throat velvety black; cheeks
light orange-brown; under surface vinaceous brown, fading into greyish white in the vent and under tail-
coverts.
The female differs in having only a trace of the chestnut colouring of the head on the occiput, the grey
collar less defined, and the back of a chestnut instead of a deep-chocolate tin t; the black throat-mark, too, is
not so conspicuous, and the general tints are altogether paler.
The Plate represents an adult male in the summer plumage, a young bird about a month old, and a reduced
figure of the male in the winter dress.