‖ guacharo
(ˈgwɑːtʃərəʊ)
[Sp. guácharo, of S. Amer. origin.]
A nocturnal bird, Steatornis caripensis, of South America and Trinidad, valued for its oil; the oil-bird. Also attrib.
| 1830 W. D. Cooley Marit. & Inland Discov. (1846) III. v. xvii. 252 The Guacharo is of the size of our fowls, of a dark bluish grey plumage, and resembling in its manners both the goat-sucker and the alpine crow. 1838 Penny Cycl. XI. 462/1 The use of the Guacharo oil is very antient. Ibid. 462/2 [Among the Indians] ‘to go and join the Guacharoes’ means to rejoin their fathers—in short, to die. 1893 Newton Dict. Birds 395 The hard, indigestible seeds swallowed by the Guacharo are found in quantities on the floor and the ledges of the caverns it frequents. |