marsh hen

American  

noun

1. any of various rails or raillike birds.

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marsh hen British  

noun

1. any bird that frequents marshes and swamps, esp a rail, coot, or gallinule

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Etymology

Origin of marsh hen

An Americanism dating back to 1700–10

Example Sentences

Once we crossed a patch of oozy turf from which arose a score of jack-snipe; again we skirted a drying pond whose boggy edges were the hunting ground of marsh hens.

From Project Gutenberg

Down they scurried like three valiant marsh hens to aid the turtle.

From Project Gutenberg

From the grass above came the sleepy cry of marsh hens, and once a great white heron rose like a ghost across their path.

From Project Gutenberg

In the meantime he would not rob that marsh hen's nest which he had found.

From Project Gutenberg

It is separated from the main land by a scarcely perceptible creek, oozing its way through a wilderness of reeds and slime, a favorite resort of the marsh hen.

From Project Gutenberg