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

However, a tropic bird flew past and put the lesser matter out of mind.

From Jungle Peace by Beebe, 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)

Every now and then some scarlet tropic bird flashed across the shadow, but it was a very lifeless and a very silent scene. 

From The Hawaiian Archipelago by Bird, Isabella L. (Isabella Lucy)

She knew now it was only some huge, tropic bird, afar on the horizon--some condor, vulture, or other creature of the air.

From Darkness and Dawn by England, George Allan

When a ray of sunlight strays in upon it, the wondrous creature seems to hover on the stalk, ready to take flight, like some lost tropic bird.

From The Atlantic Monthly, Volume 10, No. 62, December, 1862 by Various