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

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)

It could not be the tail-feathers of the tropic bird so prized by the chiefs of Polynesia; nor yet the scarlet pouch of the sea-hawk.

From The Ocean Waifs A Story of Adventure on Land and Sea by Reid, Mayne

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

That gaudy tropic bird scarce ruffles a feather.

From The Flutter of the Goldleaf; and Other Plays by Dargan, Olive Tilford

These caps, or rather bonnets, are composed of the tail feathers of the tropic bird, with the red feathers of the parroquets wrought upon them, or jointly with them.

From A General History and Collection of Voyages and Travels — Volume 15 Forming A Complete History Of The Origin And Progress Of Navigation, Discovery, And Commerce, By Sea And Land, From The Earliest Ages To The Present Time by Kerr, Robert