Blackbird
['blækbɜːd] or ['blækbɝd]
Definition
(n.) In England, a species of thrush (Turdus merula), a singing bird with a fin note; the merle. In America the name is given to several birds, as the Quiscalus versicolor, or crow blackbird; the Agelaeus phoeniceus, or red-winged blackbird; the cowbird; the rusty grackle, etc. See Redwing.
Edited by Everett
Examples
- I found that the sparrow uttered none but harsh notes, whilst those of the blackbird and thrush were sweet and enticing. Mary Shelley. Frankenstein_Or_The Modern Prometheus.
- Suddenly some one passed below, whistling like an operatic blackbird, and a voice called out, All serene! Louisa May Alcott. Little Women.
- No one supposes that the stripes on the whelp of a lion, or the spots on the young blackbird, are of any use to these animals. Charles Darwin. On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection.
- There was a long pause, while a blackbird sung blithely on the willow by the river, and the tall grass rustled in the wind. Louisa May Alcott. Little Women.
Inputed by Evelyn