hawfinch

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   a large Eurasian finch with a very powerful bill used to crack hard seeds and fruit stones

   A hawfinch sat high in the hornbeam before dropping to feed on cherry stones.

Formed from haw, the fruit of the hawthorn, + finch. The compound refers to the bird's seed-and-fruit diet; its unusually heavy bill can split hard kernels and fruit stones.

Topics