page_title: Hawfinch
section_title: Distribution and habitat
hierarchical_section_title: Hawfinch / Distribution and habitat
caption_attribution_description: Español: Picogordo (Coccothraustes coccothraustes) en Cantalejo, Castilla y León, España.English: Hawfinch (Coccothraustes coccothraustes) in Cantalejo, Castile and León, Spain.
context_page_description: The hawfinch is a passerine bird in the finch family Fringillidae. Its closest living relatives are the evening grosbeak from North America and the hooded grosbeak from Central America and Mexico.
  This bird breeds across Europe and temperate Asia. It is mainly resident in Europe, but many Asian birds migrate further south in the winter. It is a rare vagrant to the western islands of Alaska.
  Deciduous or mixed woodland, including parkland, with large trees – especially hornbeam – is favoured for breeding. The hawfinch builds its nest in a bush or tree, and lays 2–7 eggs. The food is mainly seeds and fruit kernels, especially those of cherries, which it cracks with its powerful bill. This large finch species is usually seen in a pair or small group.
  The 16.5–18 cm long hawfinch is a bulky bull-headed bird, which appears very short-tailed in flight. Its head is orange-brown with a black eyestripe and bib, and a massive bill, which is black in summer but paler in winter. The upper parts are dark brown and the underparts orange.
  The white wing bars and tail tip are striking in flight. The sexes are similar. The call is a hard chick.
context_section_description: The hawfinch is distributed in the whole of Europe, Eastern Asia (Palearctic including North Japan), and North Africa (Morocco, Tunisia and Algeria). It has also been sighted in Alaska, but this is reported as an accidental presence.
  It is not found in Iceland, parts of the British Isles, Scandinavia or certain Mediterranean islands. It is however found in southern Europe, such as in Spain and Bulgaria, as well as in central Europe, including parts of England and southern Sweden.
  In Asia it can be found in the Caucasus, northern Iran, Afghanistan, Turkistan, Siberia, Manchuria and North Korea.
  The hawfinch typically inhabits deciduous forests during the spring to have offspring, often in trees that bear fruit, such as oak trees. They also incur into human areas, such as parks and gardens. They can also be found in pine woods, as long as there is a source of water in the vicinity.
  During autumn and winter they seek food-providing forests, especially those with cherry and plum trees. As for height, the hawfinch is present in any altitude up to that which is limited by the size of the trees.
caption: A hawfinch's head
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