rifle bird

or ri·fle·bird

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noun

any of several birds of paradise of Australia, having a long bill, dark plumage, and elaborate courtship displays.

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Origin of rifle bird

First recorded in 1825–35

Words nearby rifle bird

riffle, riffler, riffola, riffraff, rifle, rifle bird, rifled slug, rifle green, rifle grenade, rifleman, rifle pit

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use rifle bird in a sentence

Then Lane found a few of the beautiful metallic rifle bird, all glossy purply green.
Fire Island|G. Manville Fenn
Being wholly new, this bird might have been named the Grenadier, as a companion to the Rifle-bird.
Three Expeditions into the Interior of Eastern Australia, Vol 1 (of 2)|Thomas Mitchell
Then there is that beautiful purply black kind of crow—the rifle bird they call it.
First in the Field|George Manville Fenn
The rifle bird; a near relative, I believe, to the birds of paradise.
King o' the Beach|George Manville Fenn

He raised his gun to shoot the rifle bird, but lowered it again.
King o' the Beach|George Manville Fenn

British Dictionary definitions for rifle bird

riflebird

/ (ˈraɪfəlˌbɜːd) /

noun

any of various birds of paradise of the genera Ptiloris and Craspedophora, such as C. magnifica (magnificent riflebird)

Word Origin for riflebird

from its call, compared to a whistling bullet

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