birdn.[OE. brid, bred, bird, young bird, bird, AS. bridd young bird. 92.]1. Orig., a chicken; the young of a fowl; a young eaglet; a nestling; and hence, a feathered flying animal (see 2).()That ungentle gull, the cuckoo's bird. (Shak.)The brydds [birds] of the aier have nestes. (Tyndale (Matt. viii. 20).)2. (Zol.) A warm-blooded, feathered vertebrate provided with wings. See Aves.()3. Specifically, among sportsmen, a game bird.()4. Fig.: A girl; a maiden.()And by my word! the bonny bird
In danger shall not tarry. (Campbell.)Arabian bird, the phenix. -- Bird of Jove, the eagle. -- Bird of Juno, the peacock. -- Bird louse (Zol.), a wingless insect of the group Mallophaga, of which the genera and species are very numerous and mostly parasitic upon birds. -- Bird mite (Zol.), a small mite (genera Dermanyssus, Dermaleichus and allies) parasitic upon birds. The species are numerous. -- Bird of passage, a migratory bird. -- Bird spider (Zol.), a very large South American spider (Mygale avicularia). It is said sometimes to capture and kill small birds. -- Bird tick (Zol.), a dipterous insect parasitic upon birds (genus Ornithomyia, and allies), usually winged.()v. i.1. To catch or shoot birds.()2. Hence: To seek for game or plunder; to thieve.(B. Jonson.)3. to watch birds, especially in their natural habitats, for enjoyment; to birdwatch.()
