Hawfinch

Coccothraustes coccothraustes

That beak can crack a cherry pit with 50 kilos of force. Don't lose your message envelope.

Population: Global population roughly estimated at 14.7-50.4 million mature individuals; European population estimated at approximately 7.2-12.6 million individuals (BirdLife/Wikipedia aggregate figures) — population trend considered stable to increasing across most of range
Habitat: Mature deciduous and mixed woodland with large trees (especially hornbeam, oak, and cherry), also parkland, orchards, and large gardens; favors pine woods near water in winter in parts of its range
Fun fact: The Hawfinch has the most powerful bite of any European songbird relative to its size, exerting jaw muscle force of roughly 30-48 kg that lets it crack open cherry and olive stones other birds cannot open.
Range: Widespread across Europe, temperate Asia (Palearctic), and parts of North Africa (Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia); breeds from Western Europe east to central Siberia, northern Mongolia and Japan; largely resident in Europe with range expanding northward since the 1950s, more northerly/easterly Asian populations migrate south in winter, rare vagrant to Alaska
Diet: Specializes on hard seeds and fruit kernels (notably cherry, plum, and hornbeam), plus other tree seeds, pine seeds, berries, and buds, with invertebrates such as caterpillars and beetles fed to nestlings
Size: 0.17 m
Wingspan: 0.31 m
Lifespan: 12 years

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