pilotbird

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noun

A forest-dwelling species of songbird, Pycnoptilus floccosus, family Acanthizidae, of southeastern mainland Australia.

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Meanings

nounpilotbird (plural pilotbirds)

plural pilotbirds

  1. A forest-dwelling species of songbird, Pycnoptilus floccosus, family Acanthizidae, of southeastern mainland Australia.

    You may see, or hear, a pilot bird where the menura does not dwell; one pair, I know, has been at home for several years in a pocket of scrub near the roadway at Fern Tree Gully.

    1927 July 28, The Advocate, Melbourne, page 37, column 2

Origin

From pilot + bird.

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

pilotbird. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/pilotbird

MLA

“pilotbird.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/pilotbird. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “pilotbird,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/pilotbird.

Source: pilotbird on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.