bird of paradise

US: (bûrd′əv par′ə dīs′, -dīz′)

Inflections of 'bird of paradise' (n): npl: birds-of-paradise

WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2025

ˈbird of ˈpar•a•dise, n., pl. birds of paradise [countable]

1. a songbird of New Guinea, the males of which have elegant, brightly colored feathers.

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2025

bird′ of par′adise, 

1. Birds any of several passerine birds of the family Paradisaeidae, of New Guinea and adjacent islands, the males of which have ornate, colorful plumage.

• 1600–10

bird-of-par•a•dise  (bûrd′əv par′ə dīs′, -dīz′), n., pl. birds-of-paradise. 

1. Plant Biology Also called bird′-of-par′adise flow′er. any of several plants of the genus Strelitzia, native to southern Africa, esp. S. reginae, having a large, showy orange and blue inflorescence.
2. Plant Biology a small tree or shrub, Caesalpinia (Poinciana) gilliesii, native to South America, having featherlike leaves and showy yellow flowers with red stamens.

• 1880–85

Bird′ of Par′adise, [Astron.]

1. Astronomy the constellation Apus.

• 1650–60

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

bird of paradise noun

1. any songbird of the family Paradisaeidae of New Guinea and neighbouring regions, the males of which have brilliantly coloured ornate plumage
2. bird-of-paradise flower ⇒ any of various banana-like plants of the genus Strelitzia, esp S. reginae, that are native to tropical southern Africa and South America and have purple bracts and large orange or yellow flowers resembling birds' heads: family Strelitziaceae