sheathbill

American  

[sheeth-bil] / ˈʃiθˌbɪl /

noun

1. either of two white sea birds, Chionis alba or C. minor, of the colder parts of the Southern Hemisphere: so called from the horny sheath covering the base of the upper bill.

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sheathbill British  

/ ˈʃiːθˌbɪl /

noun

1. either of two pigeon-like shore birds, Chionis alba or C. minor, of antarctic and subantarctic regions, constituting the family Chionididae: order Charadriiformes. They have a white plumage and a horny sheath at the base of the bill

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Etymology

Origin of sheathbill

First recorded in 1775–85; sheath + bill ²

Example Sentences

The report also found no unusual deaths among the albatross population or two endemic species, the Heard Island shad and the black-faced sheathbill.

From BBC • Jun. 18, 2026

It was true that there were extraordinary birds to be seen, not just penguins but oddities like the snowy sheathbill and the world’s southernmost-breeding songbird, the South Georgia pipit.

From The New Yorker • May 23, 2016

Its habits are those of the oyster-catchers,* however different the form of the beak, which in the sheathbill is short, stout, and pointed, and enveloped at the base by a waxy-looking sheath.

From Narrative of the Voyage of H.M.S. Rattlesnake, Commanded By the Late Captain Owen Stanley, R.N., F.R.S. Etc. During the Years 1846-1850. Including Discoveries and Surveys in New Guinea, the Louisiade Archipelago, Etc. to Which Is Added the Account of Mr. E.B. Kennedy's Expedition for the Exploration of the Cape York Peninsula. By John Macgillivray, F.R.G.S. Naturalist to the Expedition. — Volume 2 by MacGillivray, John