red-birdn.
/ˈrɛdbəːd/, U.S. /ˈrɛdˌbərd/ North American.
1. Any of various American songbirds with red plumage; esp. those of the families Thraupidae and Cardinalidae such as the summer tanager ( Piranga rubra), scarlet tanager ( P. olivacea), and common cardinal ( Cardinalis cardinalis).summer, Virginia, winter red-bird, etc.: see the first element.
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the world > animals > birds > order Passeriformes (singing) > family Muscicapidae (thrushes, etc.) > subfamily Turdinae > [noun] > genus Turdus (thrush) > turdus migratorius (American robin)
red-bird1649
robin redbreast1696
robin1703
redbreast1772
red-breasted thrush1772
red thrush1827
the world > animals > birds > order Passeriformes (singing) > arboreal families > family Icteridae > [noun] > genus Icterus (oriole) > icterus galbula
red-bird1649
Baltimore1669
firebird1778
fire hang-bird1843
the world > animals > birds > order Passeriformes (singing) > seed eaters > [noun] > family Emberizidae > subfamily Cardinalinae > genus Cardinalis
red-bird1649
Virginian nightingale1668
hawfinch1673
nutcracker1688
Virginia nightingale1694
cardinal1702
cardinal grosbeak1783
scarlet grosbeak1837
winter redbird1868
the world > animals > birds > order Passeriformes (singing) > seed eaters > [noun] > family Emberizidae > subfamily Thraupinae (tanager) > genus Piranga > piranga olivacea (scarlet tanager)
red-bird1649
scarlet tanager1808
the world > animals > birds > order Passeriformes (singing) > seed eaters > [noun] > family Emberizidae > subfamily Thraupinae (tanager) > genus Piranga > piranga rubra (summer tanager)
red-bird1649
summer redbird1730
scarlet sparrow1764
summer tanager1781
1649 W. Bullock Virginia impartially Examined 6 Birds for delight, some for singing, others for sight. A Bird that sings after any Birds noat. Nightingales that sing sweetly. Red Birds. Blew Birds.
1669 N. Shrigley True Relation Virginia & Mary-land 4 Fowle naturally to the Land are..Redbirds, the Baltenore [sic] bird, being black and yellow, [etc.].
1723 R. Blackmore Alfred vii. 224 When on Indian Plains a Rattle-Snake Perches a Red-Bird in a shady Brake.
1781 J. Latham Gen. Synopsis Birds I. i. 27 At Hudson's Bay it [sc. the American robin] is known by the name of Red bird.
1853 W. C. Bryant Poems (new ed.) 120 The red-bird warbled, as he wrought His hanging nest o'erhead.
1885 A. Brassey In Trades 423 The red-birds, or ‘Cardinal gros-beaks’..are a kind of Virginian nightingale.
1929 W. Faulkner Sartoris iv. iv. 337 They saw redbirds darting like arrows of scarlet flames.
1950 Chicago Tribune 11 Mar. 8/3 Eric, the redbird..flew by, fat 'n' sassy from a sojourn in the sunny South.
1997 J. Moore Never eat your Heart Out 22 Soon they will lay eggs and their pretty eggs will fill to bursting with baby redbirds.
2. slang. A capsule of the drug secobarbital.A proprietary name for this drug is Seconal n.
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the world > physical sensation > use of drugs and poison > an intoxicating drug > [noun] > sedative drug or tablet > secobarbital
red-bird1946
red devil1953
pink lady1954
red1958
1946 Big Spring (Texas) Daily Herald 10 Oct. 1/5 [Witnesses] told of having bought ‘red birds’, slang for the seconal sodium capsules, from Collins.
1970 G. Scott-Heron Vulture 90 John carried Red Birds, Yellow Jackets, Purple Hearts, and Blue Heavens in quantity.
2000 M. Karr Cherry 194 There are colored pills for any mood—methamphetamine,..nembutal (yellow jackets), seconal (red birds).
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, September 2009; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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