Hawfinch
(Coccothraustes coccothraustes)
Alert Status: Red
Identifying Features: The Hawfinch is a large, heavily built finch with a large head, "bull-neck" and a powerful, conical shaped bill. The back is a rusty-brown, the breast and belly are buff and the head is orange-brown with a black bib and grey neck. The wings are glossy blue-black with a broad white wing patch. The ends of the secondary flight feathers are splayed and twisted to form curiously shaped ends. The tail is short with a broad white terminal band. The bill is grey-blue in summer, yellow in winter and the legs are flesh-brown.
Average Length: 18 cm
Average Lifespan: 3 years
Average Wingspan: 29-33 cm
Beak type: Seeds
Feeding:
Natural: Cherry seeds, hips & haws, oak buds & insects
How to feed: May be attracted to a hanging garden feeder
What to feed: Sunflower seeds
Nesting: The nest is a flimsy saucer-shaped construction of twigs, grass and lichen in the fork of a branch in a large deciduous tree of woodland, parkland, orchards or large gardens.
Where to see: Hawfinches are now mostly restricted to England in the UK and have declined in many areas. Parts of western England near the Welsh Borders, the Home Counties and the south-east from Hampshire to Kent remain the most likely places to find them. Hawfinches may perch high in trees, but also feed on the ground and much more inconspicuously among the foliage.
