Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun Any of several Central and South American birds of the genus Icterus, especially I. icterus of northern South America, having orange and black plumage.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun See troopial.

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

  • noun (Zoöl.) Any one of numerous species of bright-colored American birds belonging to Icterus and allied genera, especially Icterus icterus, a native of the West Indies and South America. Many of the species are called orioles in America.

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

  • noun An oriole, Icterus icterus, with black head, long tail, and bulky bill.

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[French troupiale, from troupe, flock; see troop.]

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Examples

  • Flocks of birds, a kind of troupial, were flying past me overhead, flock succeeding flock, on their way to their roosting-place, uttering as they flew a clear, bell-like chirp; and there was something ethereal too in those drops of melodious sound, which fell into my heart like raindrops falling into a pool to mix their fresh heavenly water with the water of earth.

    Green Mansions 2004

  • Flocks of birds, a kind of troupial, were flying past me overhead, flock succeeding flock, on their way to their roosting-place, uttering as they flew a clear, bell-like chirp; and there was something ethereal too in those drops of melodious sound, which fell into my heart like raindrops falling into a pool to mix their fresh heavenly water with the water of earth.

    Green Mansions: a romance of the tropical forest 1881

  • A scarlet-breasted troupial of La Plata perches conspicuously on a tall plant in afield, and at intervals soars up vertically, singing, and, at the highest ascending point, flight and song end in a kind of aerial somersault and vocal flourish at the same moment.

    The Naturalist in La Plata 1881

  • In the various species of the genus Cnipolegus, already mentioned, the difference in the sexes is just as great as in the case of the troupial: the solitary, intensely black, statuesque male has, we have seen, a set and highly fantastic performance; but on more than one occasion I have seen four or five females of one species meet together and have a little simple performance all to themselves -- in form a kind of lively mock fight.

    The Naturalist in La Plata 1881

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  • Any of several tropical American birds of the genus Icterus, related to the orioles and New World blackbirds.

    June 21, 2008