crocodile bird

noun

an African courser, Pluvianus aegyptius, that often sits upon basking crocodiles and feeds on their insect parasites.

Origin of crocodile bird

First recorded in 1865–70

Words Nearby crocodile bird

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use crocodile bird in a sentence

Here the voice of the Burong boya (crocodile-bird) may be heard, singing like an English thrush.
Sketches of Our Life at Sarawak | Harriette McDougall
This is regarded as quite certainly the bird known in ancient days as the crocodile bird.
Egyptian Birds | Charles Whymper

British Dictionary definitions for crocodile bird

crocodile bird

noun

an African courser, Pluvianus aegyptius, that lives close to rivers and is thought to feed on insects parasitic on crocodiles

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

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