About the Kernbeisser
The Kernbeisser – I borrowed his name and picture as a pseudonym. The Kernbeisser is the German name for a Hawfinch (Coccothraustes coccothraustes). In German, it means «Kernel biter» and sums up in its name what is important to me. It’s the core or kernel that matters. They are questions about what endures and pertains. In this, I want to go all out.
Image: Wikipedia Commons, Marek Szcsepanek
The “Kernbeisser”(Coccothraustes coccothraustes) is a bird of the finch family:
“The names of the grosbeak (or: Haw finch) almost all refer to the characteristic features of this bird, that is, the large conical beak and the ability to crack fruit stones. In addition to the name “Hawfinch”, the name grosbeak is used in English. Other names (as used in its German variations) include cherry finch, cherry bird, cherry bunting, cherry berry finch, cherry cracker, stone biter, and bud biter. Furthermore, this bird is called the “Finch King” because it is the largest and strongest among European finches.
The scientific name Coccothraustes is composed of the Greek kokkos (the kernel) and thrauein (to break), meaning the kernel-breaker. The species name changed several times over the centuries; Carl von Linné used the name Loxia coccothraustes in 1758, Mathurin-Jacques Brisson gave the Hawfinch the generic name Coccothraustes in 1760. Peter Simon Pallas‘ (1811) name as Coccothraustes vulgaris lasted the longest. In the 20th century, in pursuit of uniform taxonomina, ornithology settled on the present name Coccothraustes coccothraustes.”
Source: Wikipedia