Editing Hawfinch (section)

==Behaviour and ecology==
The hawfinch is a shy species, and therefore difficult to observe and study. It spends most of the day on top of high branches, above all during breeding season. During the course of the hawfinch's life it can only be seen on the ground while looking for seeds or drinking water, always near trees.
While drinking and eating it is fairly aggressive and dominant, towards both its same species or different ones, even bigger birds.
It guards a quite small territory when its chicks are born; however, when not bearing any offspring it is known to guard entire woods. This is interpreted as an evolutionary advantage, given colony rearing is seen as safer against nest predators.

===Breeding===
[[File:Coccothraustes coccothraustes MHNT.ZOO.2010.11 Gouvieux.jpg|thumb|''Coccothraustes coccothraustes'' eggs]]
Hawfinches first breed when they are 1 year old.{{sfn|Cramp|Perrins|1994|pp=843–844}} They are monogamous, with a pair-bond that sometimes persists from one year to the next. Pair-formation takes place before the breakup of the wintering flocks.<ref name=hbwalive>{{cite book| last=Clement | first=P. | chapter=Hawfinch (''Coccothraustes coccothraustes'') | editor1-last=del Hoyo | editor1-first=J | editor2-last=Elliott | editor2-first=A. | editor3-last=Sargatal | editor3-first=J. | editor4-last=Christie | editor4-first=D.A. | editor5-last=de Juana | editor5-first=E. | title=Handbook of the Birds of the World Alive | year=2020 | publisher=Lynx Edicions | doi=10.2173/bow.hawfin.01 | s2cid=243653718 | chapter-url= http://www.hbw.com/node/61420  | access-date=6 June 2015}}{{subscription required}}</ref> The date for breeding is dependent on the spring temperature and is earlier in southwest Europe and later in the northeast. In Britain, most clutches are laid between late April and late June.{{sfn|Snow|Perrins|1998|pp=1610–1613}}

Hawfinches engage in an elaborate series of courtship routines. The two birds stand apart facing one another and reach out to touch their bills. The male displays to the female by standing erect, puffing out the feathers on his head, neck and chest and allowing his wings to droop forward. He then makes a deep bow. The male will also lower a wing and move it in a semi-circular arc, revealing his wing bars and modified wing feathers.{{sfn|Newton|1972|pp=167–168}}
   
The breeding pairs are usually solitary, but they occasionally breed in loose groups.<ref name=hbwalive/> The nest is normally located high in a tree on a horizontal branch with easy access from the air.{{sfn|Cramp|Perrins|1994|pp=843–844}} The male chooses the site of the nest and builds a layer of dry twigs. After a few days, the female takes over.{{sfn|Newton|1972|pp=166–167}} The nest is untidy and is formed of a bulky twig base and a shallow cup lined with roots, grasses and lichens.{{sfn|Newton|1972|p=63}} The eggs are laid in early morning at daily intervals.{{sfn|Cramp|Perrins|1994|pp=843–844}} The clutch is normally 4–5 eggs.{{sfn|Newton|1972|p=63}} There is considerable variable in the colour and shape of the eggs.{{sfn|Cramp|Perrins|1994|pp=843–844}} They have purple brown and pale grey squiggles on a background that can be buff, grey-green or pale blueish.{{sfn|Newton|1972|p=63}} The average size is {{convert|24.1|x|17.5|mm|in|abbr=on}} with a calculated weight of {{convert|3.89|g|oz|abbr=on}}.{{sfn|Cramp|Perrins|1994|pp=843–844}} The eggs are incubated for 11–13 days by the female.{{sfn|Cramp|Perrins|1994|pp=843–844}}<!--who is fed by the male. This is case for most cardueline finches but not for the chaffinch - see table Newton p.165 for other fringilline finches but not Hawfinch. hbwonline mentions that female fed by male in courtship --> The nestlings are fed by both parents, who regurgitate seeds but also bring mouthfuls of caterpillars.{{sfn|Newton|1972|p=167}} Initially, the male normally passes the food to the female who feeds the chicks, but as they grow bigger both adults feed them directly.{{sfn|Cramp|Perrins|1994|pp=843–844}} The female broods the chicks while they are in the nest.{{sfn|Cramp|Perrins|1994|pp=843–844}} They fledge after 12–14 days and the young birds become independent of their parents around 30 days later.{{sfn|Newton|1972|p=63}} The parents generally only raise a single brood each year.{{sfn|Cramp|Perrins|1994|pp=843–844}}<!--Newton p.63 mention 3 broods but "probably most pairs raise fewer"-->

The hawfinch is highly unusual among cardueline finches in that the male bird chooses the nest site and starts the construction. In other species the female performs these roles.<ref name=hbwalivefinch>{{cite book| last1=Collar | first1=N. | last2=Newton | first2=I. | last3= Bonan | first3= A. | year=2013 | chapter=Finches (Fringillidae) | editor1-last=del Hoyo | editor1-first=J | editor2-last=Elliott | editor2-first=A. | editor3-last=Sargatal | editor3-first=J. | editor4-last=Christie | editor4-first=D.A. | editor5-last=de Juana | editor5-first=E. | title=Handbook of the Birds of the World Alive | publisher=Lynx Edicions | doi=10.2173/bow.fringi1.01 | s2cid=216200247 | chapter-url= http://www.hbw.com/node/52376  | access-date=31 August 2015}}{{subscription required}}</ref> The hawfinch is also unusual in that the nest is kept clean by the parents removing the [[faecal sac]]s of the nestlings right up to the time when the chicks fledge. This behaviour is shared by the [[Eurasian bullfinch]], but most finches cease to remove the faecal material after the first few days.{{sfn|Newton|1972|pp=166,169}}

The annual survival rate is not known.<ref name=bto>{{ cite web | last=Robinson | first=R.A. | year=2005 | title=BirdFacts: profiles of birds occurring in Britain & Ireland (BTO Research Report 407): Hawfinch ''Coccothraustes coccothraustes'' [Linnaeus, 1758] | publisher=British Trust for Ornithology | url=http://blx1.bto.org/birdfacts/results/bob17170.htm | access-date=18 June 2015 }}</ref> The maximum age obtained from [[Bird ringing|ring-recovery]] data is 12 years and 7 months for a bird in Germany.<ref>{{ cite web | last1=Fransson | first1=T. | last2=Kolehmainen | first2=T. | last3=Kroon | first3=C. | last4=Jansson | first4=L. | last5=Wenninger | first5=T. | year=2010 | title=EURING list of longevity records for European birds | url=http://www.euring.org/data_and_codes/longevity.htm | publisher=European Union for Bird Ringing | access-date=18 June 2015 }}</ref>

===Feeding===
[[File:Gros-bec casse-noyaux.jpg|thumb|Hawfinch at a bird feeder]]
The hawfinch feeds primarily on hard seeds from trees, as well as fruit seeds, which it obtains with the help of its strong beak with accompanying jaw muscles. Its jaw muscles exert a force equivalent to a load of approximately 30–48&nbsp;kg. Thus it can break through the seeds of cherries and plums. Other common sources of food include pine seeds, berries, sprouts and the occasional caterpillar and beetle. They can also break through olive seeds.
The bird is known to eat in groups, especially during the winter.

===Flight===
Its flight is quick and its trajectory is straight over short distances. During long flights periodical undulations can be observed in their flight pattern. While on the ground scavenging it hops, and they are quick to fly away at the slightest noise.
They are observed to catch insects mid-flight. They fly up to a height of 200&nbsp;m and they are seen to fly in groups, as well as alone.

===Migration===
The hawfinch is a partial migrant, with northern flocks migrating towards the South during the winter, as shown by ringing techniques. These same studies showed that those hawfinches inhabiting habitats with a temperate climate would often have sedentary behaviour. A few migrants from northern Europe reach Britain in autumn and some are seen on the Northern Isles in spring.