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butcherbird

American  
[booch-er-burd] / ˈbʊtʃ ərˌbɜrd /

noun

  1. any of various shrikes of the genus Lanius, which impale their prey upon thorns.

  2. any of several large, carnivorous birds of the genus Cracticus, of Australia and New Guinea, having shrikelike habits.

butcherbird British  
/ ˈbʊtʃəˌbɜːd /

noun

  1. a shrike, esp one of the genus Lanius

  2. any of several Australian magpies of the genus Cracticus that impale their prey on thorns

"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

Etymology

Origin of butcherbird

First recorded in 1660–70; butcher + bird

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.