Emily Dickinson Lexicon

BIRDS'NEST, n. [bird and nest.]

1. The nest in which a bird lays eggs and hatches her young.
2. A plant, a species of Ophrys or twyblade; also a species of Orchis. – Encyc.
3. In cookery, the nest of a small swallow, of China, and the neighboring countries, delicately tasted, and mixed with soups. This nest is found in the rocks; it is of a hemispherical figure, of the size of a goose egg, and in substance resembles isinglass. In the East, these nests are esteemed a great luxury, and sell at a very high price. – Encyc.