riflebird

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition

1. n. Any of several birds of paradise of the genera Craspedophora and Ptiloris of Australia and New Guinea.

Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia

1. n. An Australian bird of paradise, Ptilorhis paradisea, belonging to the slender-billed section (Epimachinæ) of the family Paradiseidæ: said to have been so named by the early colonists from suggesting by its colors the uniform of the Rifle Brigade. This bird is 11 or 12 inches long, the wing 6, the tail 4 1/2, the bill 2; the male is black, splendidly iridescent with fiery, purplish, violet, steel-blue, and green tints, which change like burnished metal when viewed in different lights; the female is plain brown, varied with buff, white, and black. The rifle-bird inhabits especially New South Wales. There are 3 or 4 other species of Ptilorhis, of other parts of Australia and some of the adjacent islands, of which the best-known is P. magnifica of New Guinea.

GNU Webster's 1913

1. n. Any one of several species of beautiful birds of Australia and New Guinea, of the genera Ptiloris and Craspidophora, allied to the paradise birds.

WordNet 3.0

1. n. velvety black Australian bird of paradise with green and purple iridescence on head and tail