bellbird

American

[bel-burd] / ˈbɛlˌbɜrd /

Or bell bird

noun

any of several birds having a loud bell-like cry, especially Anthornis melanura, a honey eater of New Zealand, and Procnias tricarunculata three-wattled bellbird of Central America.

bellbird British

/ ˈbɛlˌbɜːd /

noun

any of several tropical American passerine birds of the genus Procnias having a bell-like call: family Cotingidae (cotingas)
either of two other birds with a bell-like call: an Australian flycatcher, Oreoica gutturalis ( crested bellbird ), or a New Zealand honeyeater, Anthornis melanura

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of bellbird

First recorded in 1795–1805; bell ¹ + bird

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Josh’s Goffin: Are football games really as loud as the white bellbird and Deep Purple?

From Slate • Jan. 6, 2020

The white bellbird — one of four bellbird species in South and Central America — is a favorite among birders in Brazil.

From Fox News • Oct. 22, 2019

When he wasn’t cycling, he was creating an enormous recycled-art sculpture of the threatened three-wattled bellbird to parade through town in hopes of inciting environmental awareness.

From Slate • Aug. 8, 2017

Nearly 3,000 birds and animals are available for scrutiny at the Bronx Zoo, which boasts the only mossy-throated bellbird in captivity.

From Time Magazine Archive

“Anyhow, that’s the bellbird; and I sent him word yesterday by one o’ them tattlin’ finches to be on hand just about this time.”

From Seven Miles to Arden by Sawyer, Ruth

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023