'lesser butcher bird' definitions:
Definition of 'lesser butcher bird'
From: GCIDE
- Reedling \Reed"ling\ (r[=e]d"l[i^]ng), n. (Zool.) The European bearded titmouse (Panurus biarmicus); -- called also reed bunting, bearded pinnock, and {lesser butcher bird}. [1913 Webster]
- Note: It is orange brown, marked with black, white, and yellow on the wings. The male has a tuft of black feathers on each side of the face. [1913 Webster]
Definition of 'lesser butcher bird'
From: GCIDE
- butcher bird \butcher bird\, butcher-bird \butcher-bird\, butcherbird \butcherbird\n.
- 1. (Zool.) any species of shrike of the genus Lanius, so called because they impale their prey on thorns. [1913 Webster + WordNet 1.5]
- 2. (Zool.) large carnivorous Australian bird with the shrikelike habit of impaling prey on thorns. [WordNet 1.5]
- Note: The Lanius excubitor is the common butcher bird of Europe. In England, the bearded tit is sometimes called the lesser butcher bird. The American species are Lanius borealis, or northern butcher bird, and Lanius Ludovicianus or loggerhead shrike. The name butcher bird is derived from its habit of suspending its prey impaled upon thorns, after killing it. [1913 Webster]