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mousebird

American  
[mous-burd] / ˈmaʊsˌbɜrd /

noun

  1. coly.


mousebird British  
/ ˈmaʊsˌbɜːd /

noun

  1. another name for coly

"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 mousebird

First recorded in 1815–25; mouse + bird

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

The discovery of Tsidiiyazhi abini, an ancient species of mousebird, is a new source of evidence.

From BBC

But certain tell-tale characteristics—such as its fourth toe, which it could turn around forward or backward to help it climb or grasp—convinced the team that it was an ancient mousebird.

From Science Magazine

Its mousebird descendants—about the size of a sparrow and marked by their soft, grayish or brownish hairlike feathers—still dwell in trees in sub-Saharan Africa today.

From Science Magazine

“This little fossil mousebird signals that those groups must have been there—we just need to find them.”

From Science Magazine

“Hear that? Those are turacos. And there’s a wood hoopoe. And there’s a gray mousebird; do you see that long tail?”

From Literature