Kingbird \King"bird\, n. (Zool.)
1. A small American bird (Tyrannus tyrannus, or Tyrannus
Carolinensis), noted for its courage in attacking larger
birds, even hawks and eagles, especially when they
approach its nest in the breeding season. It is a typical
tyrant flycatcher, taking various insects upon the wing.
It is dark ash above, and blackish on the bead and tail.
The quills and wing coverts are whitish at the edges. It
is white beneath, with a white terminal band on the tail.
The feathers on the head of the adults show a bright
orange basal spot when erected. Called also bee bird,
and bee martin. Several Southern and Western species of
Tyrannus are also called king birds.
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2. The king tody. See under King.
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Willow \Wil"low\, n. [OE. wilowe, wilwe, AS. wilig, welig; akin
to OD. wilge, D. wilg, LG. wilge. Cf. Willy.]
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1. (Bot.) Any tree or shrub of the genus Salix, including
many species, most of which are characterized often used
as an emblem of sorrow, desolation, or desertion. "A
wreath of willow to show my forsaken plight." --Sir W.
Scott. Hence, a lover forsaken by, or having lost, the
person beloved, is said to wear the willow.
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And I must wear the willow garland
For him that's dead or false to me. --Campbell.
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2. (Textile Manuf.) A machine in which cotton or wool is
opened and cleansed by the action of long spikes
projecting from a drum which revolves within a box studded
with similar spikes; -- probably so called from having
been originally a cylindrical cage made of willow rods,
though some derive the term from winnow, as denoting the
winnowing, or cleansing, action of the machine. Called
also willy, twilly, twilly devil, and devil.
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Almond willow, Pussy willow, Weeping willow. (Bot.) See
under Almond, Pussy, and Weeping.
Willow biter (Zool.) the blue tit. [Prov. Eng.]
Willow fly (Zool.), a greenish European stone fly
(Chloroperla viridis); -- called also yellow Sally.
Willow gall (Zool.), a conical, scaly gall produced on
willows by the larva of a small dipterous fly (Cecidomyia
strobiloides).
Willow grouse (Zool.), the white ptarmigan. See
ptarmigan.
Willow lark (Zool.), the sedge warbler. [Prov. Eng.]
Willow ptarmigan (Zool.)
(a) The European reed bunting, or black-headed bunting.
See under Reed.
(b) A sparrow (Passer salicicolus) native of Asia,
Africa, and Southern Europe.
Willow tea, the prepared leaves of a species of willow
largely grown in the neighborhood of Shanghai, extensively
used by the poorer classes of Chinese as a substitute for
tea. --McElrath.
Willow thrush (Zool.), a variety of the veery, or Wilson's
thrush. See Veery.
Willow warbler (Zool.), a very small European warbler
(Phylloscopus trochilus); -- called also bee bird,
haybird, golden wren, pettychaps, sweet William,
Tom Thumb, and willow wren.
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Bee \Bee\ (b[=e]), n. [AS. be['o]; akin to D. bij and bije,
Icel. b[=y], Sw. & Dan. bi, OHG. pini, G. biene, and perh.
Ir. beach, Lith. bitis, Skr. bha. [root]97.]
1. (Zool.) An insect of the order Hymenoptera, and family
Apid[ae] (the honeybees), or family Andrenid[ae] (the
solitary bees.) See Honeybee.
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Note: There are many genera and species. The common honeybee
(Apis mellifica) lives in swarms, each of which has
its own queen, its males or drones, and its very
numerous workers, which are barren females. Besides the
Apis mellifica there are other species and varieties
of honeybees, as the Apis ligustica of Spain and
Italy; the Apis Indica of India; the Apis fasciata
of Egypt. The bumblebee is a species of Bombus. The
tropical honeybees belong mostly to Melipoma and
Trigona.
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2. A neighborly gathering of people who engage in united
labor for the benefit of an individual or family; as, a
quilting bee; a husking bee; a raising bee. [U. S.]
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The cellar . . . was dug by a bee in a single day.
--S. G.
Goodrich.
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3. pl. [Prob. fr. AS. be['a]h ring, fr. b?gan to bend. See
1st Bow.] (Naut.) Pieces of hard wood bolted to the
sides of the bowsprit, to reeve the fore-topmast stays
through; -- called also bee blocks.
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Bee beetle (Zool.), a beetle (Trichodes apiarius)
parasitic in beehives.
Bee bird (Zool.), a bird that eats the honeybee, as the
European flycatcher, and the American kingbird.
Bee flower (Bot.), an orchidaceous plant of the genus
Ophrys (Ophrys apifera), whose flowers have some
resemblance to bees, flies, and other insects.
Bee fly (Zool.), a two winged fly of the family
Bombyliid[ae]. Some species, in the larval state, are
parasitic upon bees.
Bee garden, a garden or inclosure to set beehives in; an
apiary. --Mortimer.
Bee glue, a soft, unctuous matter, with which bees cement
the combs to the hives, and close up the cells; -- called
also propolis.
Bee hawk (Zool.), the honey buzzard.
Bee killer (Zool.), a large two-winged fly of the family
Asilid[ae] (esp. Trupanea apivora) which feeds upon
the honeybee. See Robber fly.
Bee louse (Zool.), a minute, wingless, dipterous insect
(Braula c[ae]ca) parasitic on hive bees.
Bee martin (Zool.), the kingbird (Tyrannus Carolinensis)
which occasionally feeds on bees.
Bee moth (Zool.), a moth (Galleria cereana) whose
larv[ae] feed on honeycomb, occasioning great damage in
beehives.
Bee wolf (Zool.), the larva of the bee beetle. See Illust.
of Bee beetle.
To have a bee in the head or To have a bee in the bonnet.
(a) To be choleric. [Obs.]
(b) To be restless or uneasy. --B. Jonson.
(c) To be full of fancies; to be a little crazy. "She's
whiles crack-brained, and has a bee in her head."
--Sir W. Scott.
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