rifle bird
or ri·fle·bird
any of several birds of paradise of Australia, having a long bill, dark plumage, and elaborate courtship displays.
Origin of rifle bird
1Words Nearby rifle bird
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use rifle bird in a sentence
Then Lane found a few of the beautiful metallic rifle bird, all glossy purply green.
Fire Island | G. Manville FennBeing wholly new, this bird might have been named the Grenadier, as a companion to the Rifle-bird.
Three Expeditions into the Interior of Eastern Australia, Vol 1 (of 2) | Thomas MitchellThen there is that beautiful purply black kind of crow—the rifle bird they call it.
First in the Field | George Manville FennThe rifle bird; a near relative, I believe, to the birds of paradise.
King o' the Beach | George Manville FennHe raised his gun to shoot the rifle bird, but lowered it again.
King o' the Beach | George Manville Fenn
British Dictionary definitions for riflebird
/ (ˈraɪfəlˌbɜːd) /
any of various birds of paradise of the genera Ptiloris and Craspedophora, such as C. magnifica (magnificent riflebird)
Origin of riflebird
1Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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