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

Then, like winged Door Dash, Shadow arrived with a water bird called a coot.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 3, 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

Meet the anhinga, a large water bird with a snaky neck that has joined other high-profile vagrant birds in recent years by making a rare appearance outside of its typical migration range.

From New York Times • May 4, 2023

Without being seen by the parents, he took the bird into the hut and exchanged it for the water bird.

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