roseate spoonbill
Americannoun
Etymology
Origin of roseate spoonbill
An Americanism dating back to 1775–85
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Birds, from pigeons and crows to the more rare roseate spoonbill, were the inspiration.
From BBC • Jan. 29, 2026
The Franco-Belgian couturier referenced the extravagant plumage of a roseate spoonbill or the crested cockatoo alongside the humble crow, grey pigeon and magpie.
From Barron's • Jan. 27, 2026
You will see dolphins, terns, maybe even a roseate spoonbill.
From Salon • Feb. 1, 2023
About that bald head — middle-aged men should have a special empathy with the roseate spoonbill, which loses feathers from the top of its head as it gets older.
From Washington Post • Aug. 6, 2021
Its nest, its pallet, was of every kind of precious feather— Of lovely cotinga feathers, roseate spoonbill feathers, quetzal feathers.
From "1491" by Charles C. Mann
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
