corbies

Noun

corbie (plural corbies)

1. (Scotland) A raven or crow (typically Corvus corax).
   • From parrots we got to corbies, or ravens, and he told us with infinite humour a story of a certain tame bird of this description, whose constant delight was to do mischief, and to plague all mankind and beastkind.1825, Basil Hall, journal entry quoted in 1837, Walter Scott, J. G. Lockhart (editor), Memoirs of the Life of Sir Walter Scott, Bart., in The Complete Works of Sir Walter Scott, Volume 7, page 417
2. (Australia) Either of two moth species of genus Oncopera, whose larvae feed on grasses, especially Oncopera intricata.
   • The eastern quoll (Dasyurus viverrinus), a species believed to be extinct on mainland Australia, is common in the run and front country, where it consumes corbie grubs and cockchafers, among slightly larger prey and carrion.2007, J. B. Kirkpatrick, “Chapter 5: Sheep and nature on the run country”, in Jamie Kirkpatrick, Kerry Bridle, editors, People, Sheep and Nature Conservation: The Tasmanian Experience, page 158

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