muttonbird
Britishnoun
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any of several shearwaters, having a dark plumage with greyish underparts, esp the sooty shearwater ( Puffinus griseus ) of New Zealand, which is collected for food by Māoris. It inhabits the Pacific Ocean and in summer nests in Australia and New Zealand
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any of various petrels esp the short tailed shearwater, Puffinus tenuirostris , which inhabits the Pacific Ocean and in summer nests in S Australia
Etymology
Origin of muttonbird
C19: so named because their cooked flesh is claimed to taste like mutton
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.
