reedbird

American

[reed-burd] / ˈridˌbɜrd /

noun

Southern U.S.

bobolink.

reedbird British

/ ˈriːdˌbɜːd /

noun

any of several birds that frequent reed beds, esp (in the US and Canada) the bobolink

"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 reedbird

First recorded in 1640–50; reed + 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.

It goes North as the bobolink and goes South as the reedbird or ricebird.

From Project Gutenberg

We have some capital things of our own, too; such as canvas-backs, reedbirds, sheepshead, shad, and blackfish.

From Project Gutenberg

It is bad enough to doom the bobolink to the pot after he has changed his coat and become a reedbird, and given some reason for his fate by his unfortunate fondness for rice.

From Project Gutenberg

We have some capital things of our own, too; such as canvass-backs, reedbirds, sheepshead, shad, and blackfish.

From Project Gutenberg

Boblincoln no more, he is the reedbird now, the much-sought-for tidbit of Pennsylvanian epicures, the rival in unlucky fame of the ortolan!

From Project Gutenberg

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