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widow bird

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary
See also: widowbird

English

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common widow bird[1] or pin-tailed whydah, Vidua macroura
red-collared widowbird,[2] Euplectes ardens

Alternative forms

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Etymology

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Compound of widow +‎ bird.[3] The name for the family Viduidae derives from the genus name Vidua, from post-classical Latin vidua (“widow”) for males' black plumage,[3] which resembles the mourning clothes of a widow. Compare whydah, from Whydah, a city in the Kingdom of Dahomey, now Ouidah, Benin.[4] The terms widow-bird and whydah-bird influenced one another due to association of one species with the city.[4]

Noun

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widow bird (plural widow birds)

  1. Any of several species of birds in the family Viduidae, incorporating whydahs and widow finches.
  2. Any of several species of birds in the genus Euplectes.

Derived terms

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Translations

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References

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  1. ^ Jean Branford (1983), A Dictionary of South African English, Cape Town: Oxford University Press
  2. ^ Kenneth Newman (1993), Newman's Birds of Southern Africa, Johannesburg: Southern
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 “widowbird, n.”, in OED Online Paid subscription required⁠, Oxford: Oxford University Press, July 2023.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 “whydah”, in OED Online Paid subscription required⁠, Oxford: Oxford University Press, July 2023.
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