A bird that lives on or frequents heathland, such as a grouse, lark, or other heath-dwelling species.
From 'heath' + 'bird' (Old English 'brid'). Compound descriptively naming birds by their habitat—similar to 'songbird,' 'seabird,' etc.
Habitat-based bird names were how people organized ornithology before modern taxonomy—a 'heathbird' made sense because you found it on heaths. Now we use Latin names, but these old descriptive names persist in folk knowledge and poetry.
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