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moosebird
DCHP-1 (pre-1967)
Entry from the DCHP-1 (pre-1967)
This entry may contain outdated or offensive information, terms, and examples.
1n. — Esp.East
a gray, crestless jay, Perisoreus canadensis.
Quotations
1849
At our evening meals the moose bird, the size of a pigeon, with a black and white head and soft flight would sometimes perch singly or in pairs on the branches above us, and flit down familiarly near us to peck up a chance morsel.
1892
The only sound was the low whistling of Baptiste at the helm . . . or the note of a chickadee or moosebird from the shore. . . .
1964
This time of year there were always a pair of moosebirds on the maple tree almost killing themselves with curiosity.
2n.
a local name used for several birds at various times. See quotes.
Quotations
1872
During the winter none remained but the owls, the grouse, some of the wood-peckers, and the cat-birds . . . commonly known as the moose bird, the Canadian jay, and a few other minor species.
1888
My friend of the woods, the moose-bird. . . . I found his real name was the great northern shrike, Lanius borealis; he has many aliases, being also called the Hudson's Bay bird.
1908
The Indians call them [phoebe, Sayornis sayus] "Moose birds," as they often use moose hair in lining their nests.
1958
Robins warbled among the birches, woodpeckers drummed against the spruce bark, moosebirds and chicken hawks wheeled and hovered in the sky.