bellbird

American  

[bel-burd] / ˈbɛlˌbɜrd /

Or bell bird

noun

1. any of several birds having a loud bell-like cry, especially Anthornis melanura, a honey eater of New Zealand, and Procnias tricarunculata three-wattled bellbird of Central America.

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bellbird British  

/ ˈbɛlˌbɜːd /

noun

1. any of several tropical American passerine birds of the genus Procnias having a bell-like call: family Cotingidae (cotingas)

2. either of two other birds with a bell-like call: an Australian flycatcher, Oreoica gutturalis ( crested bellbird ), or a New Zealand honeyeater, Anthornis melanura

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Etymology

Origin of bellbird

First recorded in 1795–1805; bell ¹ + bird

Example Sentences

Josh’s Goffin: Are football games really as loud as the white bellbird and Deep Purple?

From Slate • Jan. 6, 2020

The white bellbird — one of four bellbird species in South and Central America — is a favorite among birders in Brazil.

From Fox News • Oct. 22, 2019

When he wasn’t cycling, he was creating an enormous recycled-art sculpture of the threatened three-wattled bellbird to parade through town in hopes of inciting environmental awareness.

From Slate • Aug. 8, 2017

Nearly 3,000 birds and animals are available for scrutiny at the Bronx Zoo, which boasts the only mossy-throated bellbird in captivity.

From Time Magazine Archive

We heard the calling of the false bellbird, which is gray instead of white like the true bellbirds; it keeps among the very topmost branches.

From Through the Brazilian Wilderness by Roosevelt, Theodore