ˈdevil's-bird
A name popularly given to various birds. (See also devil-bird.)
† 1. The Stormy Petrel. [app. transl. Fr. oiseau du diable.] Obs.
| 1634 Sir T. Herbert Trav. 18 Upon view of this Bird (which Sea-men improperly call Devils Bird) an infallible tempest and storme in lesse than two dayes, assailes the ship. 1832 A. Wilson Amer. Ornith. II. 383 They have been called Witches, Stormy Petrels, the Devil's Birds, Mother Carey's Chickens. |
2. The Yellow Hammer.
| 1837 Macgillivray Hist. Brit. Birds I. 445 Yellow-Hammer..Skite, Devil's-Bird. |
3. The Pied Wagtail.
| 1885 Swainson Prov. Names Brit. Birds 44 Pied Wagtail..Devil's bird or Deviling (Ireland). From the constant uncanny motion of its tail. |