- Lanius excubitor
- butcher bird utcher bird, butcher-bird utcher-bird,
butcherbird utcherbird
.
1. (Zo["o]l.) any species of shrike of the genus {Lanius}, so
called because they impale their prey on thorns.
[1913 Webster + WordNet 1.5]
2. (Zo["o]l.) large carnivorous Australian bird with the shrikelike habit of impaling prey on thorns. [WordNet 1.5]
Note: The {Lanius excubitor} is the common butcher bird of Europe. In England, the bearded tit is sometimes called the {lesser butcher bird}. The American species are {Lanius borealis}, or {northern butcher bird}, and {Lanius Ludovicianus} or {loggerhead shrike}. The name butcher bird is derived from its habit of suspending its prey impaled upon thorns, after killing it. [1913 Webster]
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English. 2000.
