grosbeak

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition

1. n. Any of various finches of the family Fringillidae of Europe and America, having a thick conical bill.

Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia

1. n. A bird having a notably large, heavy, or turgid bill: usually a general and indefinite name of birds of the family Fringillidæ: in the plural loosely synonymous with the nominal subfamily Coccothraustinœ. Among familiar examples may be noted the hawfinch or hawthorn-grosbeak, Coccothraustes vulgaris, and the greenfinch or green grosbeak, Ligurinus chloris, both of Europe. (See cut under hawfinch.) The pinegrosbeak. Pinicola enucleator, is common to both Europe and America. Peculiar to the latter country are the evening grosbeak, Hesperophona vespertina; the blue grosbeak, Guiraca cœrulea; the rose-breasted grosbeak, Zamelodia (or Habia) ludoviciuna; the black-headed grosbeak, Z. (or H.) melanocephala; and the cardinal or scarlet grosbeak, or cardinal-bird, Cardinalis virginianus. (See cut under Cardinalis.) A few large-billed conirostral birds not of the family Fringillidœ receive the same name, as the grenadier, an African weaver-bird, and some of the thick-billed American tanagers, indicating a former very extensive use of grosbeak as an English book-name of birds of the Linnean genus Loxia in a wide sense. Less frequently written grossbeak.

Wiktionary

1. n. Any of several finches and cardinals that have a large, powerful bill

GNU Webster's 1913

1. n. (Zoöl.) One of various species of finches having a large, stout beak. The common European grosbeak or hawfinch is Coccothraustes vulgaris.

WordNet 3.0

1. n. any of various finches of Europe or America having a massive and powerful bill