| 释义 |
John Crow|dʒɒn krəʊ|
[Reduction, in folk pronunciation, of carrion crow.]
In Jamaica, a name for the red-headed turkey vulture, Cathartes aura. Hence John Crow('s) nose, a parasitic plant, Scybalium jamaicense, which bears bright red flowers.
1826C. R. Williams Tour through Jamaica 82 The dead carcass of a mule, on which a score of john-crows were holding an inquest. 1864A. H. R. Griesbach Flora Brit. W. Indian Islands 785 John-Crow's-nose. 1893A. Newton Dict. Birds ii. 470 In Jamaica, within a few years, the John-Crow, though there protected by human law, has been nearly extirpated by the introduction of the Mongoose. 1963Robertson & Gooding Bot. for Caribbean xvi. 122 In the rain-forests of the West Indies, several members of the family Balanophoraceae occur as parasites on the roots of trees. An example is the John Crow Nose (Scybalium jamaicense), which occurs in Jamaica, Cuba and Puerto Rico. 1963A. L. Thomson New Dict. Birds 867/1 The Turkey Vulture Cathartes aura (also called ‘Turkey Buzzard’ and ‘John Crow’ in the United States) is regarded as a pest on the Peruvian guano islands. 1972E. Hargreaves Fair Green Weed viii. 88 The john-crows hadn't yet caught sight of him, and given warning by their insistent, wheeling flight. |