Macaw

2 definitions found

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  Macaw \Ma*caw"\, n. [From the native name in the Antilles.]
     (Zool.)
     Any parrot of the genus {Ara}, {Sittace}, or {Macrocercus}.
     About eighteen species are known, all of them found in
     Central and South America. They are large and have a very
     long tail, a strong hooked bill, and a naked space around the


     eyes. The voice is harsh, and the colors are brilliant and
     strongly contrasted; they are among the largest and showiest
     of parrots. Different species names have been given to the
     same macaw, as for example the {Hyacinthine macaw}, which has
     been variously classified as {Anodorhyncus hyacynthinus},
     {Anodorhyncus maximiliani}, and {Macrocercus hyacynthinus}.
     [1913 Webster +PJC]
     [1913 Webster]
  
     {Macaw bush} (Bot.), a West Indian name for a prickly kind of
        nightshade ({Solanum mammosum}).
  
     {Macaw palm}, {Macaw tree} (Bot.), a tropical American palm
        ({Acrocomia fusiformis} and other species) having a
        prickly stem and pinnately divided leaves. Its nut yields
        a yellow butter, with the perfume of violets, which is
        used in making violet soap. Called also {grugru palm}.
        [1913 Webster]

From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:

  macaw
       n : long-tailed brilliantly colored parrot of Central America
           and South America; among the largest and showiest of
           parrots