mygale avicularia

2 definitions found

mygale avicularia - Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 :

  Mygale \Myg"a*le\, prop. n. [L., a field mouse, Gr. ?.] (Zool.)
     A genus of very large hairy spiders of the family
     Ctenizidae, having four lungs and only four spinnerets.
     They do not spin webs, but usually construct tubes in the
     earth, which are often furnished with a trapdoor. The South
     American bird spider (Mygale avicularia), and the crab
     spider, or matoutou (Mygale cancerides) are among the
     largest species. They are also called trapdoor spiders.
     Some of the species are erroneously called tarantulas, as the
     Texas tarantula (Mygale Hentzii).
     [1913 Webster +PJC]

  Bird \Bird\ (b[~e]rd), n. [OE. brid, bred, bird, young bird,
     bird, AS. bridd young bird. [root]92.]
     1. Orig., a chicken; the young of a fowl; a young eaglet; a
        nestling; and hence, a feathered flying animal (see 2).
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              That ungentle gull, the cuckoo's bird. --Shak.
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              The brydds [birds] of the aier have nestes.
                                                    --Tyndale
                                                    (Matt. viii.
                                                    20).
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     2. (Zool.) A warm-blooded, feathered vertebrate provided with
        wings. See Aves.
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     3. Specifically, among sportsmen, a game bird.
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     4. Fig.: A girl; a maiden.
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              And by my word! the bonny bird
              In danger shall not tarry.            --Campbell.
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     Arabian bird, the phenix.
  
     Bird of Jove, the eagle.
  
     Bird of Juno, the peacock.
  
     Bird louse (Zool.), a wingless insect of the group
        Mallophaga, of which the genera and species are very
        numerous and mostly parasitic upon birds. -- Bird mite
        (Zool.), a small mite (genera Dermanyssus,
        Dermaleichus and allies) parasitic upon birds. The
        species are numerous.
  
     Bird of passage, a migratory bird.
  
     Bird spider (Zool.), a very large South American spider
        (Mygale avicularia). It is said sometimes to capture and
        kill small birds.
  
     Bird tick (Zool.), a dipterous insect parasitic upon birds
        (genus Ornithomyia, and allies), usually winged.
        [1913 Webster]