sb. pl. Ornith. A sing. colie, coly, is rarely, if ever, used. [f. mod.L. generic name coli-us, ad. Gr. κολιός a kind of woodpecker mentioned by Aristotle.] A book-name for the Colidæ, a family of African birds, known at the Cape of Good Hope as mouse-birds.
1847. Carpenter, Zool., § 391. Colidæ or Colies … African birds, which dwell in bushes and thickets, living in flocks, and feeding on fruits and buds.
