Definitions

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun A humming-bird of the genus Gouldia, having long sharp tail-feathers (whence the genus is also called Prymnacantha).

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • noun (Zoöl.) A beautiful South American humming bird (Gouldia Popelairii), having the six outer tail feathers long, slender, and pointed. The head is ornamented with a long, pointed crest.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun zoology Any of various hummingbirds of the genus Discosura.

Etymologies

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

thorn +‎ tail

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  • Any of the species of hummingbirds in the genus Popelairia or Discosura, with long, slender, pointed tail feathers and sometimes a long, pointed crest on the head. Native to South and Central America. Here's a Wire-Crested Thorntail, for example.

    Others are the Black-Bellied Thorntail, Coppery Thorntail, and Racket-Tailed Coquette.

    March 14, 2008