n. 欧椋鸟, 桥墩尖端

[ noun ]
gregarious birds native to the Old World
<noun.animal>

Starling \Star"ling\ (-l[i^]ng), n. [OE. sterlyng, a dim. of OE.
stare, AS. st[ae]r; akin to AS. stearn, G. star, staar, OHG.
stara, Icel. starri, stari, Sw. stare, Dan. st[ae]r, L.
sturnus. Cf. {Stare} a starling.]
1. (Zo["o]l.) Any passerine bird belonging to {Sturnus} and
allied genera. The European starling ({Sturnus vulgaris})
is dark brown or greenish black, with a metallic gloss,
and spotted with yellowish white. It is a sociable bird,
and builds about houses, old towers, etc. Called also
{stare}, and {starred}. The pied starling of India is
{Sternopastor contra}.

2. (Zo["o]l.) A California fish; the rock trout.

3. A structure of piles driven round the piers of a bridge
for protection and support; -- called also {sterling}.

{Rose-colored starling}. (Zo["o]l.) See {Pastor}.

Rock \Rock\, n. [OF. roke, F. roche; cf. Armor. roc'h, and AS.
rocc.]
1. A large concreted mass of stony material; a large fixed
stone or crag. See {Stone}.

Come one, come all! this rock shall fly
From its firm base as soon as I. --Sir W.
Scott.

2. (Geol.) Any natural deposit forming a part of the earth's
crust, whether consolidated or not, including sand, earth,
clay, etc., when in natural beds.

3. That which resembles a rock in firmness; a defense; a
support; a refuge.

The Lord is my rock, and my fortress. --2 Sam. xxii.
2.

4. Fig.: Anything which causes a disaster or wreck resembling
the wreck of a vessel upon a rock.

5. (Zo["o]l.) The striped bass. See under {Bass}.

Note: This word is frequently used in the formation of
self-explaining compounds; as, rock-bound, rock-built,
rock-ribbed, rock-roofed, and the like.

{Rock alum}. [Probably so called by confusion with F. roche a
rock.] Same as {Roche alum}.

{Rock barnacle} (Zo["o]l.), a barnacle ({Balanus balanoides})
very abundant on rocks washed by tides.

{Rock bass}. (Zo["o]l.)
(a) The stripped bass. See under {Bass}.
(b) The goggle-eye.
(c) The cabrilla. Other species are also locally called
rock bass.

{Rock builder} (Zo["o]l.), any species of animal whose
remains contribute to the formation of rocks, especially
the corals and Foraminifera.

{Rock butter} (Min.), native alum mixed with clay and oxide
of iron, usually in soft masses of a yellowish white
color, occuring in cavities and fissures in argillaceous
slate.

{Rock candy}, a form of candy consisting of crystals of pure
sugar which are very hard, whence the name.

{Rock cavy}. (Zo["o]l.) See {Moco}.

{Rock cod} (Zo["o]l.)
(a) A small, often reddish or brown, variety of the cod
found about rocks andledges.
(b) A California rockfish.

{Rock cook}. (Zo["o]l.)
(a) A European wrasse ({Centrolabrus exoletus}).
(b) A rockling.

{Rock cork} (Min.), a variety of asbestus the fibers of which
are loosely interlaced. It resembles cork in its texture.


{Rock crab} (Zo["o]l.), any one of several species of large
crabs of the genus {C}, as the two species of the New
England coast ({Cancer irroratus} and {Cancer borealis}).
See Illust. under {Cancer}.

{Rock cress} (Bot.), a name of several plants of the cress
kind found on rocks, as {Arabis petr[ae]a}, {Arabis
lyrata}, etc.

{Rock crystal} (Min.), limpid quartz. See {Quartz}, and under
{Crystal}.

{Rock dove} (Zo["o]l.), the rock pigeon; -- called also {rock
doo}.

{Rock drill}, an implement for drilling holes in rock; esp.,
a machine impelled by steam or compressed air, for
drilling holes for blasting, etc.

{Rock duck} (Zo["o]l.), the harlequin duck.

{Rock eel}. (Zo["o]l.) See {Gunnel}.

{Rock goat} (Zo["o]l.), a wild goat, or ibex.

{Rock hopper} (Zo["o]l.), a penguin of the genus
{Catarractes}. See under {Penguin}.

{Rock kangaroo}. (Zo["o]l.) See {Kangaroo}, and {Petrogale}.


{Rock lobster} (Zo["o]l.), any one of several species of
large spinose lobsters of the genera {Panulirus} and
{Palinurus}. They have no large claws. Called also {spiny
lobster}, and {sea crayfish}.

{Rock meal} (Min.), a light powdery variety of calcite
occuring as an efflorescence.

{Rock milk}. (Min.) See {Agaric mineral}, under {Agaric}.

{Rock moss}, a kind of lichen; the cudbear. See {Cudbear}.

{Rock oil}. See {Petroleum}.

{Rock parrakeet} (Zo["o]l.), a small Australian parrakeet
({Euphema petrophila}), which nests in holes among the
rocks of high cliffs. Its general color is yellowish olive
green; a frontal band and the outer edge of the wing
quills are deep blue, and the central tail feathers bluish
green.

{Rock pigeon} (Zo["o]l.), the wild pigeon ({Columba livia})
Of Europe and Asia, from which the domestic pigeon was
derived. See Illust. under {Pigeon}.

{Rock pipit}. (Zo["o]l.) See the Note under {Pipit}.

{Rock plover}. (Zo["o]l.)
(a) The black-bellied, or whistling, plover.
(b) The rock snipe.

{Rock ptarmigan} (Zo["o]l.), an arctic American ptarmigan
({Lagopus rupestris}), which in winter is white, with the
tail and lores black. In summer the males are grayish
brown, coarsely vermiculated with black, and have black
patches on the back.

{Rock rabbit} (Zo["o]l.), the hyrax. See {Cony}, and {Daman}.


{Rock ruby} (Min.), a fine reddish variety of garnet.

{Rock salt} (Min.), cloride of sodium (common salt) occuring
in rocklike masses in mines; mineral salt; salt dug from
the earth. In the United States this name is sometimes
given to salt in large crystals, formed by evaporation
from sea water in large basins or cavities.

{Rock seal} (Zo["o]l.), the harbor seal. See {Seal}.

{Rock shell} (Zo["o]l.), any species of Murex, Purpura, and
allied genera.

{Rock snake} (Zo["o]l.), any one of several large pythons;
as, the royal {rock snake} ({Python regia}) of Africa, and
the {rock snake} of India ({Python molurus}). The
Australian rock snakes mostly belong to the allied genus
{Morelia}.

{Rock snipe} (Zo["o]l.), the purple sandpiper ({Tringa
maritima}); -- called also {rock bird}, {rock plover},
{winter snipe}.

{Rock soap} (Min.), a kind of clay having a smooth, greasy
feel, and adhering to the tongue.

{Rock sparrow}. (Zo["o]l.)
(a) Any one of several species of Old World sparrows of
the genus {Petronia}, as {Petronia stulla}, of Europe.
(b) A North American sparrow ({Puc[ae]a ruficeps}).

{Rock tar}, petroleum.

{Rock thrush} (Zo["o]l.), any Old World thrush of the genus
{Monticola}, or {Petrocossyphus}; as, the European rock
thrush ({Monticola saxatilis}), and the blue rock thrush
of India ({Monticola cyaneus}), in which the male is blue
throughout.

{Rock tripe} (Bot.), a kind of lichen ({Umbilicaria
Dillenii}) growing on rocks in the northen parts of
America, and forming broad, flat, coriaceous, dark fuscous
or blackish expansions. It has been used as food in cases
of extremity.

{Rock trout} (Zo["o]l.), any one of several species of marine
food fishes of the genus {Hexagrammus}, family
{Chirad[ae]}, native of the North Pacific coasts; --
called also {sea trout}, {boregat}, {bodieron}, and
{starling}.

{Rock warbler} (Zo["o]l.), a small Australian singing bird
({Origma rubricata}) which frequents rocky ravines and
water courses; -- called also {cataract bird}.

{Rock wren} (Zo["o]l.), any one of several species of wrens
of the genus {Salpinctes}, native of the arid plains of
Lower California and Mexico.