Hawfinch
Coccothraustes coccothraustes (Linnaeus, 1758)
The hawfinch (Coccothraustes coccothraustes) is a bird in the songbirds and other perching birds subgroup, belonging to the family Fringillidae in the order Passeriformes. It is a small bird with an adult body mass of 56.6 g, ranging from 55.4 to 58 g, and a wingspan of 31 cm.
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Quick facts about the hawfinch
Its diet category is omnivore and its trophic level is herbivore; it lives in forest habitat, has a perching lifestyle and is partially migratory. The hawfinch is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List, which is not a threatened category, and its geographic range covers 12,200,000 km².
- Weight
- 55.4 g – 58 gsrc for Weight
- Length
- 16.5 cm – 18 cmsrc for Length
- Wingspan
- 31 cmsrc for Wingspan
- Lifespan
- 12.6 yearssrc for Lifespan
- Diet
- Omnivoresrc for Diet
- Main food
- seedssrc for Main food
- Habitat
- forestsrc for Habitat
- Egg incubation
- 14 dayssrc for Egg incubation
- Young per litter or clutch
- 4 – 4.5src for Young per litter or clutch
- Age at maturity
- 12 monthssrc for Age at maturity
- Litters or clutches a year
- 1src for Litters or clutches a year
- Reproduction
- Eggssrc for Reproduction
- Lifestyle
- Perchingsrc for Lifestyle
- Migration
- Partialsrc for Migration
- Conservation status
- Least Concern (IUCN)src for Conservation status
- Countries on record
- Not recorded
How big is the hawfinch?
Photos of the hawfinch
Only freely licensed photos are shown. Each carries its creator and licence.
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Where does the hawfinch live?
Not recorded
What is the hawfinch?
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.
From the Wikipedia article “Hawfinch” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Hawfinch&oldid=1355222812), by Wikipedia contributors, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0). This block is kept separate from our own text.
What does the hawfinch sound like?
Is the hawfinch endangered?
The hawfinch is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List: it is not currently at risk of extinction.
- LCLeast Concern
- NTNear Threatened
- VUVulnerable
- ENEndangered
- CRCritically Endangered
- EWExtinct in the Wild
- EXExtinct
Category via Wikidata (CC0). Find the full assessment on the IUCN Red List. See all Least Concern species.
How is the hawfinch classified?
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- classAves
- orderPasseriformes
- familyFringillidae
- genusCoccothraustes
- SpeciesCoccothraustes coccothraustes (Linnaeus, 1758)
Synonyms Coccothraustes coccothraustes insularis, Coccothraustes crataegus, Coccothraustes cratoegi, Coccothraustes linnéi, Coccothraustes vulgaris, Loxia coccothraustes, Loxia major
Other names and names in other languages (104)
- بلبل زيتونيArabic
- حسون الزعرورArabic
- شرشور الكرزArabic
- TrencapinyolAragonese
- БалғабашBashkir
- Звычайны таўстадзюбBelarusian
- ЧерешаркаBulgarian
- Beg-tevBreton
- DurbecCatalan
- durbec comúCatalan
- КӹжгӹнерMari
- Патвар сӑмсаChuvash
- dlask tlustozobýCzech
- gylfinbraffWelsh
- GylfinbraffauWelsh
- KernebiderDanish
- KirschfinkGerman
- FinkenkönigGerman
- KernbeisserGerman
- KirschbeerfinkGerman
- KirschenknipperGerman
- KirschkernbeißerGerman
- KirschknackerGerman
- KirschvogelGerman
- KnospenbeißerGerman
- SteinbeißerGerman
- ΚοκκοθραύστηςGreek
- Ευρωπαϊκός ΚοκκοθραύστηςGreek
- KernorompuloEsperanto
- eŭrazia dikbekuloEsperanto
- PicogordoSpanish
- Picogordo comúnSpanish
- suurnokkEstonian
- suurnokk-vintEstonian
- suurnokk-vint e. suurnokkEstonian
- MokolodiBasque
- سهره نوک بزرگPersian
- nokkavarpunenFinnish
- gros-bec casse-noyauxFrench
- Grosbec casse-noyauxFrench
- KersebiterWestern Frisian
- Glasán gobmhórIrish
- gobachScottish Gaelic
- glaisean gobachScottish Gaelic
- glaiseanan gobachScottish Gaelic
- gobachanScottish Gaelic
- BicogrosoGalician
- Gobbagh mooarManx
- פצחןHebrew
- meggyvágóHungarian
- ՀատբեկիչներArmenian
- Սովորական հատբեկիչArmenian
- KjarnbíturIcelandic
- FrosoneItalian
- シメJapanese
- 鴲Japanese
- ჩვეულებრივი კულუმბურებიGeorgian
- ДубэкъKabardian
- Кәдімгі ементұмсықKazakh
- 콩새Korean
- KeskankirojKurdish
- Gelvyn brasCornish
- KiischteknäppchenLuxembourgish
- svilikasLithuanian
- dižknābisLatvian
- пурсагайыкMari
- дебелоклун црешарMacedonian
- Банхар булжуухайMongolian
- appelvinkDutch
- kjernebitarNorwegian Nynorsk
- kjernebiterNorwegian
- Grubodziób zwyczajnyPolish
- GrubodzióbPolish
- grubodziób (zwyczajny)Polish
- Bico-grossudo-comumPortuguese
- Bico-grossudoPortuguese
- bico-grossudo-eurasiáticoPortuguese
- BotgrosRomanian
- ДубоносRussian
- Обыкновенный дубоносRussian
- КостогрызRusyn
- Суон тумусYakut
- GassanjunniNorthern Sami
- gassanjunbeibbošNorthern Sami
- geađgečuolanNorthern Sami
- geađgeluodduNorthern Sami
- glezg obyčajnýSlovak
- glezg hrubozobýSlovak
- dleskSlovenian
- kobeciAlbanian
- kryemadhiAlbanian
- sqeptrashiAlbanian
- BatokljunSerbian
- БатокљунSerbian
- stenknäckSwedish
- ИмәнборынTatar
- kocabaşTurkish
- Bayağı kocabaşTurkish
- костогризUkrainian
- Костогриз звичайнийUkrainian
- AppelvienkeWest Flemish
- 锡嘴雀Chinese
- 臘嘴雀Chinese
- 臘嘴雀〔錫嘴雀〕Chinese
Catalogue of LifeWikipediaiNaturalistTAXREFWikidataWoRMSIUCN Red List
Relatives of the hawfinch
Other species in the same genus Coccothraustes.
CompareHawfinch vs Coccothraustes balcanicusHawfinch vs Coccothraustes caucasicusHawfinch vs Coccothraustes simeonoviHawfinch vs Coccothraustes striata
Common questions
Each answer is written from the sourced facts on this page, and only where they hold the answer.
What kind of animal is the hawfinch?
The hawfinch is a bird in the songbirds and other perching birds subgroup. It belongs to the family Fringillidae in the order Passeriformes.
How heavy is a hawfinch?
An adult Hawfinch weighs 56.6 g, with values from 55.4 to 58 g. It is classed as a small bird and has a wingspan of 31 cm.
What does the hawfinch eat?
The hawfinch's diet category is omnivore, and its trophic level is herbivore.
How long does a hawfinch live?
The hawfinch has a lifespan of 12.6 years.
How many eggs does a hawfinch lay?
The hawfinch lays 4 eggs per clutch, up to 4.5, with 1 clutch per year. The eggs are incubated for 14 days.
When does a hawfinch reach sexual maturity?
The hawfinch reaches sexual maturity at 364.6 days, or 1 year, with values from 364.2 to 365 days.
Who named the hawfinch?
The hawfinch, Coccothraustes coccothraustes, was named by (Linnaeus, 1758).
Sources and how to cite this page
Data as of 2026-11-11. How this page is put together.
- An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles · CC0 1.0 · E096-269
Myhrvold, N.P., Baldridge, E., Chan, B., Sivam, D., Freeman, D.L. & Ernest, S.K.M. (2015) An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles. Ecology 96: 3109. https://doi.org/10.1890/15-0846R.1. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3563457.v1 - AVONET: morphological, ecological and geographical data for all birds · CC BY 4.0 · v7
Tobias, J.A. et al. (2022) AVONET: morphological, ecological and geographical data for all birds. Ecology Letters 25: 581–597. https://doi.org/10.1111/ele.13898. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.16586228.v7 - Catalogue of Life eXtended Release · CC BY 4.0 · 2026-10-16 XR
Catalogue of Life (2026). Catalogue of Life eXtended Release, version 2026-10-16 XR. Catalogue of Life Foundation, Amsterdam, Netherlands. https://doi.org/10.48580/dgzlf - Wikimedia Commons · per file (CC0 / public domain / CC BY green, CC BY-SA amber, anything else not displayed) · 2026-11-11
Wikimedia Commons contributors. Wikimedia Commons. https://commons.wikimedia.org (each file credited to its author under its own licence). - Wikidata · CC0 1.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikidata contributors. Wikidata. https://www.wikidata.org (data retrieved via the Wikidata Query Service). - Wikipedia (English) · CC BY-SA 4.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikipedia contributors. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. https://en.wikipedia.org (text under CC BY-SA 4.0; each block names its article and revision).
Embed a card for this animal on your own site
Copy this code. The card shows the photo with its credit, key facts and a link back to this page.
CreatureData. (2026). Hawfinch (Coccothraustes coccothraustes). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/hawfinch
“Hawfinch (Coccothraustes coccothraustes).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/hawfinch.
@misc{hawfinch_2026,
title = {Hawfinch (Coccothraustes coccothraustes)},
author = {{CreatureData}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/hawfinch},
note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}