night raven
- a bird that cries in the night.
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Origin of night raven
before 900; Middle English; Old English nihthræfn, næhthræfn.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for night raven
Historical Examples
I had as lief have heard the night-raven, come what plague could have come after it.
The Ornithology of ShakespeareJames Edmund Harting
In some parts both of England and Ireland it is known as the Night-raven, and under that title is held in the greatest fear.
Bible Animals;J. G. Wood
By 'raven,' the poet probably meant the night-raven, of which he had already spoken in Much Ado, ii.
Benedick observes to himself: I had as lief have heard the night-raven, come what plague could have come after it.
Folk-lore of ShakespeareThomas Firminger Thiselton-Dyer
night raven
- poetic any bird, esp the night heron, that is most active at night
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Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
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