bowerbird

[ bou-er-burd ]

/ ˈbaʊ ərˌbɜrd /

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noun

any of several oscine birds of the family Ptilonorhynchidae, of Australia, New Guinea, and adjacent islands, the males of which build bowerlike, decorated structures to attract the females.

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Origin of bowerbird

First recorded in 1840–50; bower¹ + bird

Words nearby bowerbird

bowel movement, Bowen, bowenite, Bowen's reaction series, bower, bowerbird, Bowers, bowery, bowfin, bow front, bowgrace

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use bowerbird in a sentence

An entryway with massive sticks made to look like a the nest of a bowerbird.
Baltimore exhibition of outsider art celebrates nature’s ‘excess’ with a wake-up call about pollution|Kelsey Ables|February 8, 2021|Washington Post

British Dictionary definitions for bowerbird

bowerbird

/ (ˈbaʊəˌbɜːd) /

noun

any of various songbirds of the family Ptilonorhynchidae, of Australia and New Guinea. The males build bower-like display grounds in the breeding season to attract the females

informal, mainly Australian a person who collects miscellaneous objects

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012