boatbill

[boht-bil]

noun

a wading bird, Cochlearius cochlearius, of tropical America, related to the herons, having a broad bill resembling an inverted boat.

Origin of boatbill

First recorded in 1770–80; boat + bill²

Also called boat-billed heron

[boht-bild] /ˈboʊtˌbɪld/.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for boatbill

Historical Examples of boatbill

If we listen to Reinhurdt, we must place it, not alongside of the boatbill, but alongside of the African genus Scopus.
Scientific American Supplement, No. 829, November 21, 1891
Various
Whoever has once set eyes on the Boatbill or Savacou (Fig. 140) will never forget the bird, or confound it with any other.
Reptiles and Birds
Louis Figuier
Bonaparte regards it as intermediate between the pelican and the boatbill.
Scientific American Supplement, No. 829, November 21, 1891
Various

British Dictionary definitions for boatbill

boatbill

boat-billed heron

noun

a nocturnal tropical American wading bird, Cochlearius cochlearius, similar to the night herons but with a broad flattened bill: family Ardeidae, order Ciconiiformes

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012