bird of paradise
1
6.3
- noun
- /bɜrd əv ˈpærəˌdaɪs/
- Australian
:
ave del paraíso
- They pulled up to a baby-blue cabin with beautiful birds of paradise and ginger flowers out front.
- bird of paradise
- Wilson's bird of paradise
- Goldie's bird of paradise
Examples
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WASHINGTON (Sept. 10, 2012) -- Extravagant plumage, crazy courtship dances, and bizarre behaviors are just a few of the characteristics associated with birds of paradise, a famous family of birds found in Papua New Guinea.
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The courtship dance of the greater bird of paradise is a stunning display of color and movement.
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Yes, this is a bird of paradise and one of the few living birds of paradise in this country.
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The spectacular birds of paradise are now among protected species.
Academic text (1994) -
We find the birds of paradise intriguing because they stray far from our mental image of a normal bird.
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Thirty-nine of the most gorgeous, outlandish animals in the world—the birds-of-paradise—live only in New Guinea, associated islands, and adjacent tropical Australia.
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Edwin Scholes, a Ph.D. ornithologist and biodiversity video curator at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, has studied birds of paradise for more than a decade and is a leading authority on their behavior and evolution.
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During our trip to New Guinea, we were fortunate enough to see the beautiful bird of paradise in its natural habitat.
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Visitors flock to the rainforest to catch a glimpse of the vibrant bird of paradise performing its elaborate mating ritual.
Synonyms
A family of colourful birds from New Guinea whose males have bright feathers and do showy mating dances
Surface Forms
Morphology
The phrase composes from 'bird' + 'paradise', so a learner can infer a very beautiful or exotic bird (a bird associated with a paradisiacal quality). However, the full, specific sense — that it names particular brilliantly coloured species native to New Guinea with elaborate courtship displays — is lexicalized and not fully predictable from the parts, so prior exposure or encyclopedic knowledge is needed.
Etymology
Bird of paradise was named for the real bird's amazing bright feathers and showy dance. Early visitors thought this beauty looked like something from a tropical 'paradise', so they called the bird a bird of paradise.