rare bird

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rare bird

Where it comes from

Calque of Latin rāra avis, part of a commonly quoted line from Juvenal's Satire VI: rara avis in terris nigroque simillima cygno ("a bird as rare upon the earth as a black swan").

noun rare birds

figuratively An unusual or exceptional person or thing. An occasional Afghan makes a good bushman. These rare birds, with the help of natives, found that by winding in and out over the soft ground of the valleys they could bring a camel-train where no wheeled transport could go.
Similar: rara avis
Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see rare, bird.

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MLA

"rare bird." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/rare%20bird. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

rare bird. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/rare%20bird

Chicago

"rare bird." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/rare%20bird.

BibTeX

@misc{rare_bird_2026,
  title = {rare bird},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/rare%20bird},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}