any of various birds, such as (in Britain) the green woodpecker, whose cry is supposed to portend rain
rainbird in American English
(ˈreinˌbɜːrd)
noun
any of several birds, esp. the black-billed cuckoo (Coccyzus erythropthalmus) and the yellow-billed cuckoo (C. americanus), that are said to call frequently before a rainstorm
Word origin
[1910–15; rain + bird]This word is first recorded in the period 1910–15. Other words that entered Englishat around the same time include: functionalism, insulin, payoff, radio, zing