water bird

American  

noun

1. an aquatic bird; a swimming or wading bird.

---

water bird British  

noun

1. any aquatic bird, including the wading and swimming birds

---

Etymology

Origin of water bird

late Middle English word dating back to 1400–50

Example Sentences

After Jackie laid the egg, Shadow arrived with a coot — a water bird.

From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 25, 2026

So he went all-out in a humorous campaign for his favored bird, the pūteketeke, a water bird, on his HBO show “Last Week Tonight.”

From Seattle Times • Nov. 13, 2023

Bewick's swans, a migratory water bird that breeds south of the Barents Sea in European Russia, is now seen much less often in the Netherlands than in previous years.

From Science Daily • Oct. 5, 2023

The flatworm begins its life in a snail, then moves into a California killifish, then to its final destination in the gut of a predatory water bird, such as a heron or egret.

From Scientific American • May 18, 2022

The water bird then flew away, cackling with pleasure at its freedom.

From "The Girl Who Married a Lion: and Other Tales from Africa" by Alexander Mccall Smith