spoonbill
noun
spoon·bill
ˈspün-ˌbil 
1
: any of several wading birds (family Threskiornithidae) related to the ibises that have an expanded bill that is flattened and rounded at the tip
2
: any of several broad-billed ducks (such as the shoveler)
Examples of spoonbill in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
The large pink wader’s appearance also highlights the beginning of the annual post-breeding dispersal of southern herons, egrets, spoonbills, and storks north into the piedmont of the Carolinas.
—
Taylor Piephoff, Charlotte Observer, 31 Jan. 2024
As the spoonbills prance on sandbars, a reddish egret performs a vaudeville-style dance to stir up fish.
—Robin Soslow, Miami Herald, 30 Jan. 2024
Islands in the lake and marshy areas downriver were nesting sites for great herons, glossy ibises, Eurasian spoonbills and others, said Oleksii Vasyliuk, an ecologist and zoologist.
—Jeffrey Gettleman, BostonGlobe.com, 3 Sep. 2023
This year, stormy weather could have pushed spoonbills like this one, believed to be a juvenile, away from their usual habitats.
—Sarah Kuta, Smithsonian Magazine, 1 Aug. 2023
No one knows for sure what happened, but birds do fly off course or get blown off-track by a storm, especially juveniles like Green Bay's spoonbill.
—Jeff Bollier, USA TODAY, 1 Aug. 2023
But for birders in Wisconsin, the spoonbill’s appearance is unprecedented.
—Sarah Kuta, Smithsonian Magazine, 1 Aug. 2023
Summer rains swelled the shallow inland sea, creating seasonal overflows that sustained the Everglades and its alligators, panthers, spoonbills and snail kites.
—New York Times, 9 July 2023
Between anonymous glass office buildings and tidy single-story houses, there were huge expanses of open space: a flock of ibises screeched from an enormous tulip tree; an African spoonbill waded on fuchsia legs along the edges of a muddy river; birds of prey circled above me, riding thermals.
—Nicola Twilley, The New Yorker, 15 Aug. 2022
Taylor Piephoff, Charlotte Observer, 31 Jan. 2024
As the spoonbills prance on sandbars, a reddish egret performs a vaudeville-style dance to stir up fish.
—Robin Soslow, Miami Herald, 30 Jan. 2024
Islands in the lake and marshy areas downriver were nesting sites for great herons, glossy ibises, Eurasian spoonbills and others, said Oleksii Vasyliuk, an ecologist and zoologist.
—Jeffrey Gettleman, BostonGlobe.com, 3 Sep. 2023
This year, stormy weather could have pushed spoonbills like this one, believed to be a juvenile, away from their usual habitats.
—Sarah Kuta, Smithsonian Magazine, 1 Aug. 2023
No one knows for sure what happened, but birds do fly off course or get blown off-track by a storm, especially juveniles like Green Bay's spoonbill.
—Jeff Bollier, USA TODAY, 1 Aug. 2023
But for birders in Wisconsin, the spoonbill’s appearance is unprecedented.
—Sarah Kuta, Smithsonian Magazine, 1 Aug. 2023
Summer rains swelled the shallow inland sea, creating seasonal overflows that sustained the Everglades and its alligators, panthers, spoonbills and snail kites.
—New York Times, 9 July 2023
Between anonymous glass office buildings and tidy single-story houses, there were huge expanses of open space: a flock of ibises screeched from an enormous tulip tree; an African spoonbill waded on fuchsia legs along the edges of a muddy river; birds of prey circled above me, riding thermals.
—Nicola Twilley, The New Yorker, 15 Aug. 2022
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“Spoonbill.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/spoonbill. Accessed 23 Apr. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
spoonbill
noun
spoon·bill
ˈspün-ˌbil
: any of several wading birds related to the ibises that have a bill with a broad, flat, and rounded tip
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