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

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for crocodile bird

Historical Examples of crocodile bird

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

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