adjutant bird

noun

1. either of two large carrion-eating storks, Leptoptilos dubius or L. javanicus, which are closely related and similar to the marabou and occur in S and SE Asia

Word History and Origins

Origin of adjutant bird¹

so called for its supposedly military gait

Example Sentences

Moreover, where is his authority for representing an adjutant bird as an ordinary London fowl?

From Project Gutenberg

In another enclosure, cranes and adjutant birds flapped their great wings, and made long, hopping jumps, and then stood still, as if posing for their pictures.

From Project Gutenberg

I knew him at once to be an adjutant bird—the chief of fishermen.

From Project Gutenberg

When I arrived, hat in hand, he smiled, examined my firearms, and proceeded for sport, leading the way to a high tree, on which some adjutant birds were nesting, and numerous vultures resting.

From Project Gutenberg