oilbird

1 9.9

A night bird from South America that eats fruit, lives in caves, and uses sound to move in the dark

noun
/ˈɔɪlˌbɜrd/

: guácharo

Researchers studied the nesting habits of the oilbird in remote regions of Venezuela.

Examples

Local communities once collected oilbird chicks for their valuable fat.
The oilbird navigates caves using echolocation, much like a bat.
The oilbird is known for its unique diet.
Did you see an oilbird in the rainforest?
The oilbird is known for its unique ability to locate fruit at night using echolocation.
In the Amazon rainforest, the oilbird's high-fat young are often collected for local culinary dishes.
Researchers studied the oilbird to understand its nocturnal habits and fruit-eating diet.

Synonyms

Steatornis caripensis

vsoilbird

Specialized

9.9

A nocturnal bird from northern South America that eats fruit and whose young provide oil used as butter

is found across South America rather than only in the north

guacharo

vsoilbird

9.9

A large night bird from northern South America that eats fruit and nests in caves

is described as occurring across South America not limited to the north

Surface Forms

oilbird singular

oilbirds plural

Morphology

oilbird = oil + bird (semi-transparent) = oil + bird

Formed by the clear combination 'oil' + 'bird', but the specific zoological meaning (a nocturnal fruit-eating species whose young were used for oil) is specialized and not directly predictable from the components.

Etymology

The word oilbird comes from the simple joining of oil and bird because people in South America long ago collected the very fatty young to make 'oil' for cooking or lamps. So the name remembers that this night bird was valued for its oily fat.