Definitions
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- noun a
tropical bird, Phaeton oethereus, often found far fromland , whosecry resembles thewhistle of aboatswain's pipe
Etymologies
Sorry, no etymologies found.
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Examples
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The name "boatswain-bird" is applied to some other kinds of birds, besides the tropic bird.
The Northmen, Columbus and Cabot, 985-1503 Various 1884
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It was not unbroken by sounds; but these were of a character to sadden rather than cheer them, for they were sounds to be heard only in the wilderness of the great deep, -- such as the half-screaming laugh of the sea-mew, and the wild whistle of the boatswain-bird.
The Ocean Waifs A Story of Adventure on Land and Sea Mayne Reid 1850
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In that morning he says that a white bird was seen which has not the habit of sleeping on the sea, called _rabo de junco_ (boatswain-bird). [
The Northmen, Columbus and Cabot, 985-1503 Various 1884
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