bullfinch

1 8.6

A small bird in Europe with black and white feathers and a bright red breast

noun
/ˈbʊl.fɪnʧ/

: pinzón

On a quiet morning, I watched a bullfinch perched on a branch, its bright red throat catching the sunlight.

Examples

The bullfinch sang a mellow tune, filling the garden with its sweet melody, as I sipped my tea.
A bullfinch or a nightingale?

Quills (2000)
And then there is the bird, a red bullfinch, dead centre, hardly noticeable and hovering over the scene, almost as if it is a spectator.
Other avian residents of Barbados include the Lesser Antillean bullfinch, which, like many of the island's birds, shows a keen interest in "unnatural" human habitats.

Academic text (1996)
They got off at Bullfinch Junction and headed for an old mountain ash whose savory berries they harvested for preserves every fall.

Fiction book (2000)
In spring, we often see a bullfinch visiting our bird feeder, drawn by the seeds we put out.

Synonyms

Pyrrhula pyrrhula

vsbullfinch

Specialized

9.9

A small European finch with a bright red breast and black and white feathers

is the everyday English name for the same small red-throated European finch

Surface Forms

bullfinch singular

bullfinches plural

Morphology

bullfinch = bull + finch (semi-transparent) = bull + finch

The components 'bull' and 'finch' are recognizable, but the compound names a specific species and the 'bull' element refers to robustness/male characteristics rather than literal cattle, so the exact sense is not fully predictable.

Etymology

Bullfinch joins bull and finch, and a helpful way to remember it is to imagine a small, sturdy finch with a bright red breast, like a little 'bull' among finches. So, bullfinch today names that compact finch known for its red throat and quiet, mellow call.