The folded flocks, penned in their wattled cotes.
Milton.
Wat"tle*bird` (?), n. 1. (Zoöl.) Any one of several species of honey
eaters belonging to Anthochæra and allied genera of the family
Meliphagidæ. These birds usually have a large and conspicuous wattle of
naked skin hanging down below each ear. They are natives of Australia
and adjacent islands.
The best-known species (Anthochæra carunculata) has the upper parts
grayish brown, with a white stripe on each feather, and the wing and
tail quills dark brown or blackish, tipped with withe. Its wattles, in
life, are light blood-red. Called also wattled crow, wattled bee-eater,
wattled honey eater. Another species (A. inauris) is streaked with
black, gray, and white, and its long wattles are white, tipped with
orange. The bush wattlebirds, belonging to the genus Anellobia, are
closely related, but lack conspicuous wattles. The most common species
(A. mellivora) is dark brown, finely streaked with white. Called also
goruck creeper.