Definition

Noun: 1. A common name for the black-winged stilt (Himantopus himantopus): A long-legged, three-toed, black-and-white wading bird typically found in inland ponds, marshes, or brackish lagoons. The name "long-legs" is a direct reference to its most distinctive physical feature.

Usage Notes

• "Long-legs" is primarily used as a common name for a specific bird species. It is often written with a hyphen.
• It functions as a singular noun (e.g., "a long-legs") but can be used informally in a plural form (e.g., "a flock of long-legs").
• The more formal and precise name for this bird is the black-winged stilt.

Examples of Usage

• Noun:
  • We spotted a solitary long-legs probing the mudflats for insects.
  • The long-legs is easily identified by its extremely long, pink legs and needle-like black bill.

Advanced Usage

• The term can sometimes be used more generically and informally to describe other birds with notably long legs, such as herons or cranes, but this is not its primary ornithological meaning.

Variants and Related Words

• Black-winged stilt (n): The standard common name and species identifier for the bird referred to as "long-legs."
• Himantopus (n): The genus name for stilts.
• Stilt (n): A broader category of wading birds within the family Recurvirostridae, characterized by long legs.

Synonyms

• Black-winged stilt (n): The direct synonym and more formal name.
• Stilt (n): A close synonym, though it can refer to other species within the same genus.

Related Idioms or Phrases

• (To have) legs like a long-legs: An informal, descriptive phrase comparing someone's long legs to those of the bird.
  • As a basketball player, she has legs like a long-legs.

Noun

1. long-legged three-toed black-and-white wading bird of inland ponds and marshes or brackish lagoons