weaver-finch

weav·er·bird

[wee-ver-burd]
noun
any of numerous African and Asian finchlike birds of the family Ploceidae, noted for their elaborately woven nests and colonial habits.
Also called weaver finch.


Origin:
1820–30; weaver + bird

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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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World English Dictionary
weaverbird or weaver (ˈwiːvəˌbɜːd) [Click for IPA pronunciation guide]
 
n
1.  any small Old World passerine songbird of the chiefly African family Ploceidae, having a short thick bill and a dull plumage and building covered nests: includes the house sparrow and whydahs
2.  Also called: weaver finch any similar bird of the family Estrilidae, of warm regions of the Old World: includes the waxbills, grassfinches, and Java sparrow
 
weaver or weaver
 
n

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
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00:10
Weaver-finch is always a great word to know.
So is interrobang. Does it mean:
a printed punctuation mark (‽), available only in some typefaces, designed to combine the question mark (?) and the exclamation point (!), indicating a mixture of query and interjection, as after a rhetorical question.
a calculus or concretion found in the stomach or intestines of certain animals, esp. ruminants, formerly reputed to be an effective remedy for poison.
Encyclopedia Britannica
Encyclopedia

weaver-finch

any of numerous songbirds belonging to the family Estrildidae (order Passeriformes), individually called grass finch, mannikin, and waxbill (qq.v.). They are finchlike Old World birds. Most of the 107 species are small or tiny seed-eaters with short conical bills. They occur in flocks in open country and woodland borders in warm regions. Some are favourite cage birds.

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Encyclopedia Britannica, 2008. Encyclopedia Britannica Online.
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