rain-bird

Dictionary of Australasian Words Phrases and Usages by Edward E. Morris

n.


The name is popularly given inmany parts of the world to various birds. The Rain-birdof Queensland and the interior is the Great Cuckoo orChannel-bill ( Scythrops novae-hollandiae, Lath., q.v.).

1860. G. Bennett, `Gatherings of a Naturalist,' p. 283:

«We discovered a nest of full-fledged birds of the AustralianShrike or Butcher-bird, also called Rain-bird by the colonists( Vanga destructor). They were regarded by ourcompanions as a prize, and were taken accordingly to be caged,and instructed in the art of whistling tunes, in which they aregreat adepts.»

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