honey guide

noun

small bird of tropical Africa and Asia; feeds on beeswax and honey and larvae

• Hypernyms: ↑piciform bird

• Member Holonyms: ↑Indicatoridae, ↑family Indicatoridae

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noun

1. : any of several small plainly colored nonpasserine birds of the family Indicatoridae especially of the genera Indicator and Prodotiscus that inhabit Africa, the Himalayas, and the East Indies and include some that lead men or lower animals to the nests of bees — compare barbet

2. : a spot or stripe of a different color from the rest of the corolla that is found on the petals of many flowers and is assumed to act as a guide to insects in their quest of nectar

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any of several small, usually dull-colored birds of the family Indicatoridae, of Africa and southern Asia, certain species of which are noted for their habit of leading people or animals to nests of honeybees in order to feed on the honey, larvae, and wax of the nests after they have been broken open.

Also, honeyguide.

[1780-90]

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honey guide noun

1. A species of bird of a mainly African family (Indicatoridae) which guides humans and ratels to honey bees' nests by hopping from tree to tree with a peculiar cry

2. A marking on a flower said to show the way to the nectaries

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Main Entry: ↑honey

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honey guide,

any one of various small birds of Africa, Asia, and the East Indies, related to the woodpecker, that are supposed to guide men and animals to places where honey may be found; honey bird.