sunbird

[ suhn-burd ]

/ ˈsʌnˌbɜrd /

noun

any of various small, brilliantly colored Old World birds of the family Nectariniidae.

Nearby words

sunbathe, sunbeam, sunbed, sunbelt, sunberry, sunbird, sunbittern, sunblock, sunbonnet, sunbow, sunbreak

Origin of sunbird

First recorded in 1790–1800; sun + bird

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for sunbird

Loten's sunbird (A. lotenia) ventures some 2500 feet higher, and has been seen in the vicinity of Coonoor.
Birds of the Indian Hills|Douglas Dewar
Sunbird, fly away, fly to my ancestress' house; bring me apples and pears; come back soon.
Comparative Studies in Nursery Rhymes|Lina Eckenstein
This sunbird was common around flowers at Kalabakan and Brantian Estate.
Birds from North Borneo|Max C. Thompson
Hence it might seem that, in the case of the sunbird, the above-mentioned explanation of the sexual dimorphism is the true one.
Birds of the Plains|Douglas Dewar

Moreover, a tiny creature such as a sunbird is almost as light as the proverbial feather.
Jungle Folk|Douglas Dewar

British Dictionary definitions for sunbird

sunbird

/ (ˈsʌnˌbɜːd) /

noun

any small songbird of the family Nectariniidae, of tropical regions of the Old World, esp Africa, having a long slender curved bill and a bright plumage in the males

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