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magpie |
3 definitions found From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) [web1913]: Magpie \Mag"pie\, n. [OE. & Prov. E. magot pie, maggoty pie, fr Mag, Maggot, equiv. to Margaret, and fr F. Marquerite, and common name of the magpie. Marguerite is fr L. margarita pearl, Gr ?, prob. of Eastern origin. See {Pie} magpie, and cf the analogous names {Tomtit}, and {Jackdaw}.] (Zo["o]l.) Any one of numerous species of the genus {Pica} and related genera, allied to the jays, but having a long graduated tail. Note: The common European magpie ({Pica pica}, or {P. caudata}) is a black and white noisy and mischievous bird. It can be taught to speak. The American magpie ({P. Hudsonica}) is very similar. The yellow-belled magpie ({P. Nuttalli}) inhabits California. The blue magpie ({Cyanopolius Cooki}) inhabits Spain. Other allied species are found in Asia. The Tasmanian and Australian magpies are crow shrikes, as the white magpie ({Gymnorhina organicum}), the black magpie ({Strepera fuliginosa}), and the Australian magpie ({Cracticus picatus}). {Magpie lark} (Zo["o]l.), a common Australian bird ({Grallina picata}), conspicuously marked with black and white; -- called also {little magpie}. {Magpie moth} (Zo["o]l.), a black and white European geometrid moth ({Abraxas grossulariata}); the harlequin moth. Its larva feeds on currant and gooseberry bushes. From WordNet r 1.6 [wn]: magpie n 1: long-tailed black-and-white bird that utters a chattering call 2: someone who collects things that have been discarded by others [syn: {scavenger}, {pack rat}] From THE DEVIL'S DICTIONARY ((C)1911 Released April 15 1993) [devils]: MAGPIE, n. A bird whose thievish disposition suggested to someone that it might be taught to talk.
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