Hawfinch

Hawfinch (Coccothraustes coccothraustes) is a large, heavy-headed finch with an exceptionally powerful conical bill, warm brown body, black bib and patterned wings. Body shape, bill structure, plumage pattern and voice provide the strongest field characters. Age, sex and season may alter its appearance, so identification should combine several features and careful direct field comparisons with similar species in the same habitat (Wikipedia, general species account).

It favours deciduous and mixed woodland and parkland across the Palearctic, cracking hard seeds and fruit stones and also taking insects; many Asian birds migrate south in winter. Its movements and social behaviour vary through the year, with breeding birds generally more dispersed and non-breeding birds gathering where food is concentrated. The Korean vertebrate catalogue used for this guide records the species in South Korea (Wikipedia, general species account; Wildlife of Korea occurrence records).