rare bird

noun

Example Sentences

The little diner is a rare bird in a city full of expensive restaurants.
Recent Examples on the Web With any luck, a rare bird with a broken wing is going to take flight again. Steve Rubenstein, SFChronicle.com, 31 May 2020 With life spans in past centuries hovering around 30 or 40 years, finding cancer in the fossil record is like sighting a rare bird. George Johnson, Discover Magazine, 30 July 2013 The parrot's unique feathers are highly prized by collectors and therefore make the rare bird a treasured target. Donna Sarkar, Discover Magazine, 27 Oct. 2022 For the first time in 140 years, researchers have sighted and scientifically documented a rare bird, the black-necked pheasant pigeon. Sabrina Weiss, WIRED, 30 Dec. 2022 What ocean mammal is a rare bird but not a lone wolf? Elizabeth Preston, Discover Magazine, 8 Oct. 2013 But just two days before the researchers were scheduled to leave the island, a camera trap captured footage of the exceptionally rare bird. Zoe Sottile, CNN, 19 Nov. 2022 The aficionado turned critic, in the Lester Bangs mold, who exhibits a mania around holding their favorites artistically accountable, is a rare bird. John Semley, The New Republic, 18 Nov. 2022 But like Louis Kahn or William Le Baron Jenney (steel frame), Cartier is one rare bird willing to put in the time—close to a decade on the Masse Mystérieuse—and resources to push watch design forward. Charles Curkin, ELLE Decor, 29 Aug. 2022 See More

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'rare bird.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Word History

First Known Use

1631, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of rare bird was in 1631

Dictionary Entries Near rare bird

Cite this Entry

“Rare bird.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/rare%20bird. Accessed 28 Mar. 2023.

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