boatbill

American  

[boht-bil] / ˈboʊtˌbɪl /

noun

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

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boatbill British  

/ ˈbəʊtˌbɪl /

noun

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

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Etymology

Origin of boatbill

First recorded in 1770–80; boat + bill ²

Example Sentences

The nostrils differ in form and position in those two birds, and in the boatbill there exists beneath the lower mandible a dilatable pouch that we do not find in the bal�niceps.

From Scientific American Supplement, No. 829, November 21, 1891 by Various

While in quest of these, the blue heron, the large and small brown heron, the boatbill and muscovy duck now and then rise up before you.

From Wanderings in South America by Waterton, Charles

Parker, in his notes upon the osteology of the bal�niceps, this bird recalls the boatbill, the heron, and the adjutant.

From Scientific American Supplement, No. 829, November 21, 1891 by Various

An osteological examination leads Parker to place the bal�niceps near the boatbill, and the present classification is based upon that opinion.

From Scientific American Supplement, No. 829, November 21, 1891 by Various

The boatbill, of which only one species is known, seems to be merely a night-heron with an exaggerated bill,—so much widened as to suggest its English name,—but has always been allowed generic rank.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 13, Slice 4 "Hero" to "Hindu Chronology" by Various