| 释义 |
tailor-bird|ˈteɪləbɜːd|
[f. tailor n. + bird n.]
One of a number of species of Asiatic passerine singing birds, belonging to the genera Orthotomus, Prinia, Sutoria, etc., which stitch together the margins of leaves with cotton, etc., so as to form a cavity for their nest. Originally applied to a particular species (Motacilla sutoria of Pennant, now variously called Orthotomus sutorius, Sutoria longicauda, or S. sutoria) of India and Sri Lanka.
1769Pennant Ind. Zool. 7 Motacilla Sutoria. The Tailor Bird. 1813J. Forbes Oriental Mem. I. 49 The tailor-bird of Hindostan; so called from its instinctive ingenuity in forming its nest, it..gathers cotton from the shrub, spins it to a thread by means of its long bill and slender feet, and then, as with a needle, sows the leaves neatly together to conceal its nest. 1870Gillmore tr. Figuier's Reptiles & Birds 183 The nest of the Tailor Bird is placed in a large leaf, the margins of which are sewn together so as to form a bag. 1876Grant Hist. India I. xxxii. 170/1. 1895 Newton Dict. Birds 943 Species of Tailor-birds more or less nearly allied are found throughout the greater part of the Indian Region. |