butcherbird

See also: butcher bird

English

Etymology

From butcher +‎ bird, from its habit of hanging its prey.

Noun

butcherbird (plural butcherbirds)

  1. Any of the magpie-like birds in the genus Cracticus, of Australia and New Guinea.
    • 1934, Henry G. Lamond, An Aviary On The Plains, page 47:
      A butcher bird has stirred, tuned its flute with a few preparatory notes.
    • 1987, Bruce Chatwin, The Songlines, Vintage, published 1998, page 224:
      A short way off, two male butcher birds, black and white like magpies, were calling antiphonally across a ravine.
  2. (US) Any of the shrikes in the genus Lanius.
  3. (South Africa) The fiscal shrike, Lanius collaris.

Synonyms

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Derived terms

Translations

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