tropicbird

British

/ ˈtrɒpɪkˌbɜːd /

noun

any aquatic bird of the tropical family Phaethontidae , having long slender tail feathers and a white plumage with black markings: order Pelecaniformes (pelicans, cormorants, etc)

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of tropicbird

C17: so called because it is found in the tropical regions

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.

Maui is a veritable Eden for species such as the wedge-tailed shearwater, white-tailed tropicbird, brown booby, myna, kiwikiu and nene — the state bird and the world’s rarest goose.

From Washington Post • Nov. 3, 2022

A single red-billed tropicbird, a species commonly seen in the Caribbean and tropical oceans, has been seen off the Maine coast in the summer for years.

From Washington Post • Jan. 29, 2022

A single red-billed tropicbird, a species commonly seen in the Caribbean and tropical oceans, has been seen off Maine in the summer for years.

From Seattle Times • Jan. 25, 2022

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023