boatswain bird

Thân thiện

A boatswain bird soars above the open ocean.

Definition

Noun: 1. A mostly white, web-footed tropical seabird often found far from land. It is a term for a type of tropicbird, characterized by its long tail streamers.

Usage Notes

• "Boatswain bird" is a traditional or folk name, primarily used in nautical contexts or by sailors. The more common and precise modern term is tropicbird.
• It functions as a countable noun (e.g., , ).

Examples

• The sailors spotted a lone boatswain bird circling the mast, a sign they were in tropical waters.
• Boatswain birds are skilled fliers, often seen far from any coastline.
• We observed the distinctive long tail feathers of the boatswain bird.

Advanced Usage

• The name "boatswain bird" is thought to originate from the bird's call, which sailors likened to the whistle of a boatswain (a ship's officer).

Variants and Related Words

• Tropicbird (n): The standard modern ornithological term for this bird.
• Phaethon (n): The scientific genus name for tropicbirds.

Synonyms

• Tropicbird
• Bosun bird (an alternative spelling variant)

Học thuật

Noun

1. mostly white web-footed tropical seabird often found far from land

Từ đồng nghĩa

• tropic bird
• tropicbird