1.  Orig., a chicken; the young of a fowl; a young eaglet; a nestling; and hence, a feathered flying animal (see 2). [1913 Webster]
"That ungentle gull, the cuckoo's bird." [1913 Webster]
"The brydds [birds] of the aier have nestes." [1913 Webster]

2.  A warm-blooded, feathered vertebrate provided with wings. See Aves. [1913 Webster]

3.  Specifically, among sportsmen, a game bird. [1913 Webster]

4.  Fig.: A girl; a maiden. [1913 Webster]
"And by my word! the bonny bird
In danger shall not tarry." [1913 Webster]

1.  To catch or shoot birds. [1913 Webster]

2.  Hence: To seek for game or plunder; to thieve. B. Jonson. [1913 Webster]

3.  to watch birds, especially in their natural habitats, for enjoyment; to birdwatch. [PJC]

bird, n.
1 a feathered vertebrate with a beak, with two wings and two feet, egg-laying and usu. able to fly.
2 a game-bird.
3 Brit. sl. a young woman.
4 colloq. a person (a wily old bird).
5 sl. a a prison. b rhymingsl. a prison sentence (short for birdlime = time).

Idiom:
bird-bath a basin in a garden etc. with water for birds to bathe in. bird-call
1 a bird's natural call.
2 an instrument imitating this. bird cherry a wild cherry Prunus padus. bird-fancier a person who knows about, collects, breeds, or deals in, birds. a bird in the hand something secured or certain. the bird is (or has) flown the prisoner, quarry, etc., has escaped. bird- (or birds'-) nesting hunting for birds' nests, usu. to get eggs. bird of paradise any bird of the family Paradiseidae found chiefly in New Guinea, the males having very beautiful brilliantly coloured plumage.
bird of passage
1 a migrant.
2 any transient visitor. bird of prey see PREY. bird sanctuary an area where birds are protected and encouraged to breed. the birds and the bees euphem. sexual activity and reproduction. bird's-eye
--n.
1 any of several plants having small bright round flowers, such as the germander speedwell.
2 a pattern with many small spots.
--adj. of or having small bright round flowers (bird's-eye primrose). bird's-eye view a general view from above. bird's-foot (pl. bird's-foots) any plant like the foot of a bird, esp. of the genus Lotus, having claw-shaped pods. bird's nest soup soup made (esp. in Chinese cookery) from the dried gelatinous coating of the nests of swifts and other birds. birds of a feather people of like character. bird-strike a collision between a bird and an aircraft. bird table a raised platform on which food for birds is placed. bird-watcher a person who observes birds in their natural surroundings. bird-watching this occupation. for (or strictly for) the birds colloq. trivial, uninteresting. get the bird sl.
1 be dismissed.
2 be hissed at or booed. like a bird without difficulty or hesitation. a little bird an unnamed informant.

Etymology:
OE brid, of unkn. orig.

N  animal, animal kingdom, fauna, brute creation, beast, brute, creature, critter, wight, created being, creeping thing, living thing, dumb animal, dumb creature, zoophyte, mammal, bird, reptile, amphibian, fish, crustacean, shellfish, mollusk, worm, insect, arthropod, microbe, microbe, animalcule, alligator, crocodile, saurian, dinosaur (extinct), snake, serpent, viper, eft, asp, aspick, frog, toad, trout, bass, tuna, muskelunge, sailfish, sardine, mackerel, ant, mosquito, bee, honeybee, tardigrade, spider, biped, quadruped, webfoot, flocks and herds, live stock, domestic animals, wild animals, game, ferae naturae, beasts of the field, fowls of the air, denizens of the sea, black game, black grouse, blackcock, duck, grouse, plover, rail, snipe, horse, cattle, kine, ox, bull, bullock, cow, milch cow, calf, heifer, shorthorn, sheep, lamb, lambkin, ewe, ram, tup, pig, swine, boar, hog, sow, steer, stot, tag, teg, bison, buffalo, yak, zebu, dog, cat, dog, hound, pup, puppy, whelp, cur, mongrel, house dog, watch dog, sheep dog, shepherd's dog, sporting dog, fancy dog, lap dog, toy dog, bull dog, badger dog, mastiff, blood hound, grey hound, stag hound, deer hound, fox hound, otter hound, harrier, beagle, spaniel, pointer, setter, retriever, Newfoundland, water dog, water spaniel, pug, poodle, turnspit, terrier, fox terrier, Skye terrier, Dandie Dinmont, collie, feline, puss, pussy, grimalkin, gib cat, tom cat, fox, Reynard, vixen, stag, deer, hart, buck, doe, roe, caribou, coyote, elk, moose, musk ox, sambar, bird, poultry, fowl, cock, hen, chicken, chanticleer, partlet, rooster, dunghill cock, barn door fowl, feathered tribes, feathered songster, singing bird, dicky bird, canary, warbler, finch, aberdevine, cushat, cygnet, ringdove, siskin, swan, wood pigeon, vermin, varmint, pest, animal, zoological equine, bovine, vaccine, canine, feline, fishy, piscatory, piscatorial, molluscous, vermicular, gallinaceous, rasorial, solidungulate, soliped, animal, animal kingdom, fauna, brute creation, beast, brute, creature, critter, wight, created being, creeping thing, living thing, dumb animal, dumb creature, zoophyte, mammal, bird, reptile, amphibian, fish, crustacean, shellfish, mollusk, worm, insect, arthropod, microbe, microbe, animalcule, alligator, crocodile, saurian, dinosaur (extinct), snake, serpent, viper, eft, asp, aspick, frog, toad, trout, bass, tuna, muskelunge, sailfish, sardine, mackerel, ant, mosquito, bee, honeybee, tardigrade, spider, biped, quadruped, webfoot, flocks and herds, live stock, domestic animals, wild animals, game, ferae naturae, beasts of the field, fowls of the air, denizens of the sea, black game, black grouse, blackcock, duck, grouse, plover, rail, snipe, horse, cattle, kine, ox, bull, bullock, cow, milch cow, calf, heifer, shorthorn, sheep, lamb, lambkin, ewe, ram, tup, pig, swine, boar, hog, sow, steer, stot, tag, teg, bison, buffalo, yak, zebu, dog, cat, dog, hound, pup, puppy, whelp, cur, mongrel, house dog, watch dog, sheep dog, shepherd's dog, sporting dog, fancy dog, lap dog, toy dog, bull dog, badger dog, mastiff, blood hound, grey hound, stag hound, deer hound, fox hound, otter hound, harrier, beagle, spaniel, pointer, setter, retriever, Newfoundland, water dog, water spaniel, pug, poodle, turnspit, terrier, fox terrier, Skye terrier, Dandie Dinmont, collie, feline, puss, pussy, grimalkin, gib cat, tom cat, fox, Reynard, vixen, stag, deer, hart, buck, doe, roe, caribou, coyote, elk, moose, musk ox, sambar, bird, poultry, fowl, cock, hen, chicken, chanticleer, partlet, rooster, dunghill cock, barn door fowl, feathered tribes, feathered songster, singing bird, dicky bird, canary, warbler, finch, aberdevine, cushat, cygnet, ringdove, siskin, swan, wood pigeon, vermin, varmint, pest, animal, zoological equine, bovine, vaccine, canine, feline, fishy, piscatory, piscatorial, molluscous, vermicular, gallinaceous, rasorial, solidungulate, soliped.

adjutant bird, anseriform bird, ant bird, apodiform bird, aquatic bird, baby bird, baltimore bird, bird cage, bird cherry, bird cherry tree, bird dog, bird family, bird fancier, bird feed, bird feeder, bird food, bird genus, bird louse, bird nest, bird of jove, bird of juno, bird of minerva, bird of night, bird of paradise, bird of passage, bird of prey, bird parker, bird pepper, bird sanctuary, bird shot, bird vetch, bird watcher, boatswain bird, bower bird, butcher bird, canary bird, caprimulgiform bird, carinate bird, cedar bird, chipping bird, coastal diving bird, cockyoly, bird, columbiform bird, common bird cherry, coraciiform bird, corvine bird, crocodile bird, cuculiform bird, early bird, elephant bird, european bird cherry, flightless bird, flying bird, frigate bird, gallinaceous bird, gallows bird, game bird, gooney bird, huia bird, humming bird, indigo bird, jail bird, limicoline bird, lyre bird, mallee bird, man-of-war bird, mino bird, mocking bird, mound bird, myna bird, mynah bird, myrtle bird, night bird, nonpasserine bird, oceanic bird, oscine bird, passeriform bird, peabody bird, pelagic bird, perching bird, phoebe bird, piciform bird, policeman bird, queer bird, quetzal bird, raptorial bird, rare bird, ratite bird, rifleman bird, satin bird, scrub bird, sea bird, secretary bird, sedge bird, shore bird, tropic bird, tyrant bird, umbrella bird, wading bird, water bird, wheatsel bird, whidah bird, whydah bird, widow bird, yard bird, young bird