bird

/bərd/

/bəd/

Other forms: birds; birding; birded

A bird is an animal with wings, feathers, and two legs. Birds, from chickens to crows, are also warm-blooded and lay eggs.

Most birds can fly using their wings, and when you visit the coast you'll see various sea birds like gulls, terns, and cormorants. You can use the word bird as a verb meaning "to observe birds as a hobby," and in some places, particularly Britain, it's also a noun meaning "young woman." Bird is an Old English word, an unusual form of bridd, "young bird or fledgling," from an unknown origin.

Definitions of bird

1. noun

   warm-blooded egg-laying vertebrates characterized by feathers and forelimbs modified as wings
   types:

   dickey-bird, dickeybird, dicky-bird, dickybird

   small bird; adults talking to children sometimes use these words to refer to small birds

   cock

   adult male bird

   hen

   adult female bird

   nester

   a bird that has built (or is building) a nest

   night bird

   any bird associated with night: owl; nightingale; nighthawk; etc

   bird of passage

   any bird that migrates seasonally

   protoavis

   most primitive avian type known; extinct bird of the Triassic having bird-like jaw and hollow limbs and breastbone with dinosaur-like tail and hind limbs

   Archaeopteryx lithographica, archaeopteryx, archeopteryx

   extinct primitive toothed bird of the Jurassic period having a long feathered tail and hollow bones; usually considered the most primitive of all birds

   Sinornis

   sparrow-sized fossil bird of the Jurassic period to the Cretaceous period having a keeled breastbone and vestigial tail; found in China; considered possibly the second most primitive of all birds

   Ibero-mesornis

   sparrow-sized fossil bird of the Cretaceous period having a vestigial tail; found in Spain; considered possibly the third most primitive of all birds

   archaeornis

   extinct primitive toothed bird with a long feathered tail and three free clawed digits on each wing

   flightless bird, ratite, ratite bird

   any of a group of flightless bird species with flat, unkeeled breastbones, such as ostriches, cassowaries, emus, and kiwis

   carinate, carinate bird, flying bird

   birds having keeled breastbones for attachment of flight muscles

   passeriform bird, passerine

   perching birds mostly small and living near the ground with feet having 4 toes arranged to allow for gripping the perch; most are songbirds; hatchlings are helpless

   nonpasserine bird

   chiefly arboreal birds especially of the order Coraciiformes

   bird of prey, raptor, raptorial bird

   any of numerous carnivorous birds that hunt and kill other animals

   gallinacean, gallinaceous bird

   heavy-bodied largely ground-feeding domestic or game birds

   parrot

   usually brightly colored zygodactyl tropical birds with short hooked beaks and the ability to mimic sounds

   cuculiform bird

   birds having zygodactyl feet (except for the touracos)

   coraciiform bird

   chiefly short-legged arboreal nonpasserine birds that nest in holes

   apodiform bird

   nonpasserine bird having long wings and weak feet; spends much of its time in flight

   caprimulgiform bird

   long-winged nonpasserine birds

   piciform bird

   any of numerous nonpasserine insectivorous climbing birds usually having strong bills for boring wood

   trogon

   forest bird of warm regions of the New World having brilliant lustrous plumage and long tails

   aquatic bird

   wading and swimming and diving birds of either fresh or salt water

   twitterer

   a bird that twitters

   fighting cock, gamecock

   a cock bred and trained for fighting

   night raven

   any bird that cries at night

   Struthio camelus, ostrich

   fast-running African flightless bird with two-toed feet; largest living bird

   cassowary

   large black flightless bird of Australia and New Guinea having a horny head crest

   Dromaius novaehollandiae, Emu novaehollandiae, emu

   large Australian flightless bird similar to the ostrich but smaller

   apteryx, kiwi

   nocturnal flightless bird of New Zealand having a long neck and stout legs; only surviving representative of the order Apterygiformes

   Rhea americana, rhea

   larger of two tall fast-running flightless birds similar to ostriches but three-toed; found from Brazil to Patagonia

   Pterocnemia pennata, nandu, rhea

   smaller of two tall fast-running flightless birds similar to ostriches but three-toed; found from Peru to Strait of Magellan

   aepyornis, elephant bird

   huge (to 9 ft.) extinct flightless bird of Madagascar

   moa

   extinct flightless bird of New Zealand

   oscine, oscine bird

   passerine bird having specialized vocal apparatus

   sparrow, true sparrow

   any of several small dull-colored singing birds feeding on seeds or insects

   lyrebird

   Australian bird that resembles a pheasant; the courting male displays long tail feathers in a lyre shape

   scrub bird, scrub-bird, scrubbird

   small fast-running Australian bird resembling a wren and frequenting brush or scrub

   broadbill

   small birds of the Old World tropics having bright plumage and short wide bills

   tyrannid

   a passerine bird of the suborder Tyranni

   jenny wren, wren

   any of several small active brown birds of the northern hemisphere with short upright tails; they feed on insects

   Accipitriformes, order Accipitriformes

   in some classifications an alternative name for the Falconiformes

   hawk

   diurnal bird of prey typically having short rounded wings and a long tail

   bird of Jove, eagle

   any of various large keen-sighted diurnal birds of prey noted for their broad wings and strong soaring flight

   vulture

   any of various large diurnal birds of prey having naked heads and weak claws and feeding chiefly on carrion

   Sagittarius serpentarius, secretary bird

   large long-legged African bird of prey that feeds on reptiles

   bird of Minerva, bird of night, hooter, owl

   nocturnal bird of prey with hawk-like beak and claws and large head with front-facing eyes

   domestic fowl, fowl, poultry

   a domesticated gallinaceous bird thought to be descended from the red jungle fowl

   gallina, jungle fowl

   small Asiatic wild bird; believed to be ancestral to domestic fowl

   Agriocharis ocellata, ocellated turkey

   wild turkey of Central America and northern South America

   guan

   any of several large turkey-like game birds of the family Cracidae; native to jungles of tropical America; resembling the curassows and valued as food

   curassow

   large crested arboreal game bird of warm parts of the Americas having long legs and tails; highly esteemed as game and food

   chachalaca

   slender arboreal guan resembling a wild turkey; native to Central America and Mexico; highly regarded as game birds

   megapode, mound bird, mound builder, mound-bird, scrub fowl

   large-footed short-winged birds of Australasia; build mounds of decaying vegetation to incubate eggs

   Opisthocomus hoazin, hoactzin, hoatzin, stinkbird

   crested ill-smelling South American bird whose young have claws on the first and second digits of the wings

   columbiform bird

   a cosmopolitan order of land birds having small heads and short legs with four unwebbed toes

   popinjay

   an archaic term for a parrot

   poll, poll parrot

   a tame parrot

   African gray, African grey, Psittacus erithacus

   commonly domesticated grey parrot with red-and-black tail and white face; native to equatorial Africa

   amazon

   mainly green tropical American parrots

   macaw

   long-tailed brilliantly colored parrot of Central America and South America; among the largest and showiest of parrots

   Nestor notabilis, kea

   large brownish-green New Zealand parrot

   cockatoo

   white or light-colored crested parrot of the Australian region; often kept as cage birds

   Nymphicus hollandicus, cockateel, cockatiel, cockatoo parrot

   small grey Australian parrot with a yellow crested head

   lovebird

   small African parrot noted for showing affection for their mates

   lory

   small brightly colored Australasian parrots having a brush-tipped tongue for feeding on nectar and soft fruits

   parakeet, paraquet, paroquet, parrakeet, parroket, parroquet

   any of numerous small slender long-tailed parrots

   cuckoo

   any of numerous European and North American birds having pointed wings and a long tail

   touraco, turaco, turacou, turakoo

   large brightly crested bird of Africa

   roller

   Old World bird that tumbles or rolls in flight; related to kingfishers

   kingfisher

   nonpasserine large-headed bird with a short tail and long, sharp bill; usually crested and bright-colored; feed mostly on fish

   bee eater

   colorful chiefly tropical Old World bird having a strong graceful flight; feeds on especially bees

   hornbill

   bird of tropical Africa and Asia having a very large bill surmounted by a bony protuberance; related to kingfishers

   hoopoe, hoopoo

   any of several crested Old World birds with a slender downward-curved bill

   wood hoopoe

   tropical African bird having metallic blackish plumage but no crest

   momot, motmot

   tropical American bird resembling a blue jay and having greenish and bluish plumage

   tody

   tiny insectivorous West Indian bird having red-and-green plumage and a long straight bill

   swift

   a small bird that resembles a swallow and is noted for its rapid flight

   crested swift, tree swift

   birds of southeast Asia and East Indies differing from true swifts in having upright crests and nesting in trees

   hummingbird

   a tiny bird that hovers and flies by quickly beating its wings, found in the Americas

   caprimulgid, goatsucker, nightjar

   mainly crepuscular or nocturnal nonpasserine birds with mottled greyish-brown plumage and large eyes; feed on insects

   frogmouth

   insectivorous bird of Australia and southeastern Asia having a wide frog-like mouth

   Steatornis caripensis, guacharo, oilbird

   nocturnal fruit-eating bird of South America that has fatty young yielding an oil that is used instead of butter

   pecker, peckerwood, woodpecker

   bird with strong claws and a stiff tail adapted for climbing and a hard chisel-like bill for boring into wood for insects

   barbet

   small brightly colored stout-billed tropical bird having short weak wings

   puffbird

   brownish tropical American bird having a large head with fluffed out feathers

   honey guide

   small bird of tropical Africa and Asia; feeds on beeswax and honey and larvae

   jacamar

   tropical American insectivorous bird having a long sharp bill and iridescent green or bronze plumage

   toucan

   a brilliantly colored fruit-eating bird of tropical America having a very large thin-walled beak

   quetzal, quetzal bird

   large trogon of Central America and South America having golden-green and scarlet plumage

   water bird, waterbird, waterfowl

   freshwater aquatic bird

   swan

   stately heavy-bodied aquatic bird with very long neck and usually white plumage as adult

   wader, wading bird

   any of many long-legged birds that wade in water in search of food

   gallinule, marsh hen, swamphen, water hen

   any of various small aquatic birds of the genus Gallinula distinguished from rails by a frontal shield and a resemblance to domestic hens

   sea bird, seabird, seafowl

   a bird that frequents coastal waters and the open ocean: gulls; pelicans; gannets; cormorants; albatrosses; petrels; etc.

   game bird

   any bird (as grouse or pheasant) that is hunted for sport

   type of:

   craniate, vertebrate

   animals having a bony or cartilaginous skeleton with a segmented spinal column and a large brain enclosed in a skull or cranium
2. noun

   the flesh of a bird or fowl (wild or domestic) used as food
   synonyms: fowl

   types:

   poultry

   flesh of chickens or turkeys or ducks or geese raised for food

   wildfowl

   flesh of any of a number of wild game birds suitable for food

   chicken, poulet, volaille

   the flesh of a chicken used for food

   Rock Cornish hen

   flesh of a small fowl bred for roasting

   guinea hen

   flesh of a guinea fowl (especially of hens)

   dove, squab

   flesh of a pigeon suitable for roasting or braising; flesh of a dove (young squab) may be broiled

   duck

   flesh of a duck (domestic or wild)

   goose

   flesh of a goose (domestic or wild)

   grouse

   flesh of any of various grouse of the family Tetraonidae; usually roasted; flesh too dry to broil

   quail

   flesh of quail; suitable for roasting or broiling if young; otherwise must be braised

   partridge

   flesh of either quail or grouse

   pheasant

   flesh of a pheasant; usually braised

   turkey

   flesh of large domesticated fowl usually roasted

   type of:

   meat

   the flesh of animals (including fishes and birds and snails) used as food
3. verb

   watch and study birds in their natural habitat
   synonyms: birdwatch

   type of:

   observe

   watch attentively
4. noun

   a ball of cork or rubber with a crown of feathers used for playing badminton
   synonyms: birdie, shuttle, shuttlecock

   type of:

   badminton equipment

   equipment for playing the game of badminton
5. noun

   a cry or noise made to express displeasure or contempt
   synonyms: Bronx cheer, boo, hiss, hoot, raspberry, razz, razzing, snort

   type of:

   call, cry, outcry, shout, vociferation, yell

   a loud utterance; often in protest or opposition
6. noun

   informal terms for a (young) woman
   synonyms: chick, dame, doll, skirt

   type of:

   fille, girl, miss, missy, young lady, young woman

   a young woman