tropic bird

American  

Or tropicbird

noun

1. any of several web-footed seabirds of the family Phaethontidae, chiefly of tropical seas, having white plumage with black markings and a pair of greatly elongated central tail feathers.

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Etymology

Origin of tropic bird

First recorded in 1675–85

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

tropic bird

The ship approached rapidly, under the influence of the fresh breeze, seeming literally to grow out of the water, and looking, with her clouds of gaily-painted canvas, like some huge bright-plumaged tropic bird.

From Across the Spanish Main A Tale of the Sea in the Days of Queen Bess by Rainey, W. (William)

Let your love rest upon me, O my parents, who have thrust me forth, Who have left me in the cavernous cliff, Who have heartlessly placed me in the Cliff frequented by the tropic bird!

From Hawaiian Folk Tales A Collection of Native Legends by Thrum, Thomas G. (Thomas George)

The name “boatswain-bird” is applied to some other kinds of birds, besides the tropic bird.

From The Northmen, Columbus and Cabot, 985-1503 by Olson, Julius E.

I was forced, in deep depression of spirits, to turn from my grotesque monographs, and paint under my Father's eye, and, from a finished drawing of his, a gorgeous tropic bird in flight.

From Father and Son: a study of two temperaments by Gosse, Edmund

Only sea and sky; an albatross with pinions of grand spread, or a tropic bird, its long tail-feathers trailing train-like behind it.

From The Flag of Distress A Story of the South Sea by Reid, Mayne