Coccothraustes coccothraustes
Silhouette: Sheatherius · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~30% in a week ~50%
The hawfinch (Coccothraustes coccothraustes) is a passerine bird in the finch family Fringillidae. It is the only extant species placed in the genus Coccothraustes. Its closest living relatives are the genus Eophona of East Asia, and Hesperiphona of Central and North America.
This bird breeds across Europe and temperate Asia (Palearctic). 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. The song of this unobtrusive bird is quiet and mumbled. Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Białowieża National Park | 🇵🇱 Poland | |
| 2 | Biebrza National Park | 🇵🇱 Poland | |
| 3 | Gauja National Park | 🇱🇻 Latvia | |
| 4 | Plitvice Lakes National Park | 🇭🇷 Croatia | |
| 5 | Monfragüe National Park | 🇪🇸 Spain | |
| 6 | Bavarian Forest National Park | 🇩🇪 Germany | |
| 7 | Sierra Nevada National Park | 🇪🇸 Spain | |
| 8 | Kiskunság National Park | 🇭🇺 Hungary | |
| 9 | Gobi Gurvansaikhan National Park | 🇲🇳 Mongolia | |
| 10 | Triglav National Park | 🇸🇮 Slovenia | |
| 11 | Fertő-Hanság National Park | 🇭🇺 Hungary | |
| 12 | Tatra National Park | 🇸🇰 Slovakia | |
| 13 | Nikko National Park | 🇯🇵 Japan | |
| 14 | Sierra de Guadarrama National Park | 🇪🇸 Spain | |
| 15 | Aigüestortes National Park | 🇪🇸 Spain | |
| 16 | Cévennes National Park | 🇫🇷 France | |
| 17 | Hortobágy National Park | 🇭🇺 Hungary | |
| 18 | Pyrénées National Park | 🇫🇷 France | |
| 19 | Wadden Sea National Park | 🇩🇪 Germany | |
| 20 | Doñana National Park | 🇪🇸 Spain | |
| 21 | Snowdonia National Park | 🇬🇧 United Kingdom |
| # | Zoo / Centre | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Zoo Pilsen | 🇨🇿 Czechia | |
| 2 | Kaliningrad Zoo | 🇷🇺 Russia | |
| 3 | Beijing Wildlife Park | 🇨🇳 China | |
| 4 | Kharkiv Zoo | 🇺🇦 Ukraine | |
| 5 | Tierpark Hexentanzplatz | 🇩🇪 Germany | |
| 6 | Leningrad Zoo | 🇷🇺 Russia | |
| 7 | Zoopark Limpopo | 🇷🇺 Russia | |
| 8 | Kharkiv Dolphinarium | 🇺🇦 Ukraine |
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Hawfinch sighting in Stockholm on a given day, based on 274 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 48th most-seen of the 128 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 30%, and over a week to about 50%, if each day is a fresh chance.
October to August
In those months about 10% of wildlife watchers report a Hawfinch in Stockholm on a given day, against under 5% in September, the lowest month.
Between 8 and 11 am
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Hawfinch sightings with a recorded time, and about 8 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
16th of 62
Of the 62 cities where we can rate Hawfinch sightings, Stockholm ranks 16th at about 10%. The best odds are in Kharkiv (Ukraine, about 40%), Sendai (Japan, about 40%) and Dushanbe (Tajikistan, about 30%).
Same family: Fringillidae
The closest relatives of the Hawfinch that you can see in Stockholm (family Fringillidae, Finches, Euphonias, and Allies) are European Greenfinch (about 40%), Chaffinch (about 30%) and Eurasian Goldfinch (about 30%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Hawfinch is recorded against all the birds logged in Stockholm (274 verified sightings), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.
