| 释义 |
ˈrifle-bird
[f. rifle n.3 The precise reason for the name is uncertain: see Newton Dict. Birds 789 and Morris Austral Eng. 387.]
An Australian bird of the genus Ptilorrhis (esp. P. paradisea).
1831Swainson Fauna Bor. Amer. ii. 321 Such a form we..see in..the Rifle-bird of the Australian colonists. 1837― Nat. Hist. & Classif. Birds II. 144 There is an evident connection between..the Paradise birds..and the rifle-bird of New Holland. 1841Encycl. Brit. (ed. 7) XXI. 717/1 The rifle-bird is nearly the size of a jay, its bill long and sickle-shaped, and colour a rich dark green, like velvet. 1869Macgillivray in Gould Birds Austral. Suppl. pl. 50 On one of the Barnard Isles.. I found the Victoria Rifle Bird [P. Victoriæ] in considerable abundance. Ibid. pl. 51 This fine Rifle Bird [P. magnifica] inhabits the densest of the brushes in the neighbourhood of Cape York. |