dial-bird
[ad. Hindī dahiyāl or dahēl, the native name in Upper India.]
An Indian bird (Copsichus saularis), also called Magpie-robin; hence sometimes extended to the genus Copsichus.
| 1738 E. Albin Nat. Hist. Birds III. 17 These Birds were brought from Bengall in the year 1734, and are called by the Natives the Dial-Bird. 1812 Smellie & Wood Buffon's Nat. Hist. XI. 261 The East India bird which the English that visit the coasts of Bengal term the Dial-bird. 1859 Tennent Ceylon II. vii. vii. 254 The songster that first pours forth his salutation to the morning is the dial-bird. |