2018-05-16

prettygoodword: text: words are sexy (Default)
2018-05-16 07:47 am

hawfinch

hawfinch (HAW-finch) - n., a Eurasian finch (Coccothraustes coccothraustes) with a thick bill.


Most closely related to (and has a profile remarkably similar to, though with different plumage) the North American evening grosbeak. This was at best an only occasional bird in the British Isle until very recently -- it started nesting in southeast England only in the early 19th century -- which means despite the old-sounding name, it was coined in 1676 by ornithologist Francis Willughby from the haw of hawthorn + finch.

Hawfinch in winter
Thanks, Wikimedia!

---L.