Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- noun Any of various tropical American birds of the family Cotingidae, having a characteristic bell-like call.
- noun Any of various birds of Australia and New Zealand that also have a bell-like call.
from The Century Dictionary.
- noun In New Zealand, one of the Meliphagidæ, Anthornis melanura.
- noun In Australia, Oreoica gutturalis, one of the shrikes.
- noun The arapunga.
- noun An Australian bird of the family Meliphagidæ, the Manorhina (or Myzantha) melanophrys, whose notes resemble the sound of a bell.
- noun An Australian piping crow, of the genus Strepera, as S. graculina. Also called
bell-magpie .
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- noun A South and Central American bird of the genus Casmarhincos, and family
Cotingidæ , of several species; the campanero. - noun The
Myzantha melanophrys of Australia.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- noun Any of various birds with a far-carrying bell-like call, including the crested bellbird, Oreoica gutturalis, the New Zealand bellbird, Anthornis melanura and the
neotropical bellbirds of thegenus Procnias . - noun Australia The bell miner, Manorina melanophrys, a bird that feeds on bell lerps (a variety of
psyllid ).
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- noun any of several tropical American birds of the genus Procnias having a bell-like call
Etymologies
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
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Examples
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We heard the calling of the false bellbird, which is gray instead of white like the true bellbirds; it keeps among the very topmost branches.
Through the Brazilian Wilderness Theodore Roosevelt 1888
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Other endangered restricted range species that migrate seasonally to this ecoregion are the three-wattled bellbird (Procnias tricarunculata) and the bare-necked umbrella bird (Cephalopterus glabricollis).
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For example, Ocotea endresiana (Lauraceae) is a tree species from Latin America which is dispersed by several species of birds, including the three-wattled bellbird.
Seed dispersal Wikipedia 2009
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Some of the most charismatic cloud forest species such as the resplendent quetzal (Pharomacrus mocinno) and three-wattled bellbird (Procnias tricarunculata) are equally dependent on the seasonal moist forests as they migrate annually to these moist forests at the completion of their breeding season.
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Or perhaps males of the national bird of Paraguay, the bare-throated bellbird, feel attracted to other male birds?
Paraguay es en Sudamerica Richard Nokes 2006
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Scientists are especially concerned over the fate of many cloud-forest birds, such as the resplendent quetzal, with its streaming tail feather, and the three-wattled bellbird, so named for its patented clanging call.
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The solitary bellbird chiefly, whose voice may he heard sometimes, disturbs the primeval solitude with its single sharp note, which resounds through the grove with so great a resemblance to a sheep bell that it requires
Ralph Rashleigh 2004
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To think of a crow singing like a bellbird was impossible; cry and function fitted perfectly.
The Thorn Birds McCullough, Colleen 1977
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The sky was utterly blue overhead; sunlight spilled on the wide green sweep of land; wind brought him the faint crystal laughter of a bellbird.
Starways Anderson, Poul 1956
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"Anyhow, that's the bellbird; and I sent him word yesterday by one o 'them tattlin' finches to be on hand just about this time."
Seven Miles to Arden Ruth Sawyer 1925
bilby commented on the word bellbird
An Australian bird whose piping call resembles the sound of a small bell.
November 25, 2007
reesetee commented on the word bellbird
Not to be confused with the Three-Wattled Bellbird from Central America. At close range, the male's song is a complex three-part tune, with the final "bonk" giving the bird its name. This "bonk" is thought to be among the loudest bird calls on Earth, audible to humans from more than a half mile away.
November 26, 2007