hawfinch

European finch, about 18 cm/7 in long. It feeds on berries and seeds, and can crack cherry stones with its large, powerful beak. The male bird has brown plumage, a black throat and black wings with a bold white shoulder stripe, a short white-tipped tail, and a broad band of grey at the back of the neck. (Species Coccothraustes coccothraustes, family Fringillidae, order Passeriformes.)

Hawfinches spend most of their time in the treetops, where they eat the fruits of pine, hornbeam, plum, cherry, hawthorn, laurel, and holly trees. They build their nests of twigs and mosses in lichen-covered trees, 2-10 m/6.5-33 ft above the ground. They are abundant in southern Europe and are also found in the temperate parts of Asia.