The story
haw (“berry of the common hawthorn, Crataegus monogyna”) + finch. Named by English ornithologist Francis Willughby in 1676.
Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.
hawfinch
Today it means: A large Eurasian finch (Coccothraustes coccothraustes), with a thick bill. Full definition →