spoonbill

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   a long-legged wading bird related to the ibises, with a broad, flat bill rounded at the tip

   The spoonbill swept its flattened bill from side to side through the shallow water.

2. 2
   noun

   a broad-billed duck, especially a shoveler

   The marsh census listed several spoonbills among the wintering ducks.

3. 3
   noun

   US regional: the American paddlefish, named for its long flattened snout

   The angler released the young spoonbill into the river.

A compound of spoon + bill, first recorded in the seventeenth century, referring to the bird's broad, flattened, rounded beak. The same descriptive name was later applied regionally to broad-billed ducks and to the American paddlefish with its paddle-shaped snout.

Topics

External links

• Cambridge Dictionary
• Wiktionary
• Google Images