Definitions
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
- n. Any of several long-legged wading birds of the genus Platalea, similar to the ibis but having a long, flat bill with a broadly spatulate tip.
- n. Any of various broad-billed ducks, such as the shoveler.
- n. See paddlefish.
Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
- n. In ornithology: A large grallatorial bird of either of the genera Platalea and Aiaia: so called from the broad, flat, spatulate dilatation of the end of the bill, likened to a spoon. See cuts under Platalea and aiaia.
- n. The shoveler-duck, Spatula clypeata. See cut under shoveler.
- n. The scaupduck, Fuligula marila. See cut under scaup.
- n. The ruddy duck. Erismatura rubida; the broadbill: more fully called spoon-billed butterball. See cut under Erismatura.
- n. In ichthyology, the spoon-billed cat, or paddle-fish, Polyodon spatula. See cuts under paddle-fish.
Wiktionary
- n. Any of various large, long-legged wading birds in the family Threskiornithidae, which also includes the ibises, that have a large, flat, spatulate bill.
- n. US A species of fish, Polyodon spathula, native to the Mississippi/Missouri river basin.
GNU Webster's 1913
- n. Any one of several species of wading birds of the genera Ajaja and Platalea, and allied genera, in which the long bill is broadly expanded and flattened at the tip.
- n. The shoveler. See Shoveler, 2.
- n. The ruddy duck. See under Ruddy.
- n. The paddlefish.
WordNet 3.0
- n. wading birds having a long flat bill with a tip like a spoon
Etymologies
- From spoon + bill, owing to the shape of the animals' heads. (Wiktionary)
Examples
“Now what do you do with a spoonbill? can you eat it?”
“Snagged this 75lb spoonbill in the Arkansas River below Kaw Reservoir.”
“Excuse me greatly I meant to put a 5 not a 6 it was a 5 foot spoonbill.”
“I live in Manila Arkansas, and i got trout lines all out in big lake. me and dad have done great there so far!! we already got over 200 pound this year!! this is where they are at boys!! lastyear we caught a spoonbill catfish that was a sight!!”
“Also, I din't weigh them but but also caught a few nice spoonbill catfish in Elk Point, SD that weighed in the neighborhood of 90-100lbs.”
What's the biggest fish you've ever caught? How big? Where at?
“When I was a kid my family, mom, dad, aunts and uncles, would go spoonbill fishing.”
“Dodo, mammoth, and spoonbill -- a few of Josh Brill's animal prints on sale here.”
“Large wading birds found in the refuge including the roseate spoonbill, ibis, heron and egret.”
The Huffington Post: Regan Nelson: VIDEO: The Birds of Breton Island
“Among the bird species the following are the commonest: military macaw Ara militaris (VU), rufescent tinamu Crypturellus cinnamomeus, spot‑bellied bobwhite Colinus leucopogon, great curassow Crax rubra, crested guan Penelope purpurascens, blue‑winged teal Anas discors, roseate spoonbill Ajaia ajaja, thick knee Burhinus bistriatus, jabiru Jabiru mycteria (VU), ibis Eudocimus albus and laughing falcon Herpetotheres cachinans.”
“It is also a spring nesting area for Mediterranean and African birds including spoonbill Platalea leucorodia (1100) and the shallow lagoons become a feeding place for up to 10,000 greater flamingo Phoenicopterus ruber which during wet spells also nest in the area.”
Lists
These user-created lists contain the word ‘spoonbill’.
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fish list
lots and lots of fish, a piscatorial
wetdreamablet, agnathan, ahi, ahuru, ahuruhuru, albacore, albicore, alec, alewife, allice, allis, amberjack and 840 more...
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My Strange Kitchen
It seems that whenever I look away, new gadgets and devices and tools and dishes and utensils and ingredients are multiplying in my kitchen drawers and my cabinets.
tectonic plates, spoonbill, fork in the road, bowl haircut, whisk away, greasy spoon, melting pot, pan flute, platelets, spooning, pitchfork, jackknife and 101 more...
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See cut under
A list of words with definitions directing us to "see cut under" (or "see cut at") another definition (with hilarity occasionally ensuing).
Compare compare-cut-under.spider, scorpion, spoonbill, spur, tooth, feather, gnat, beard, gyrate, astragal, jog, countercheck and 92 more...
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Interesting words
A list of words that are odd or words that I have looked up.
concupiscence, brize, scree, scoria, forestaff, spanaemia, valetudinarianism, distasture, pyrethrum, laudanum, gentian, bicameral and 11184 more...
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birds
birds with singular names from
at least 9 English dictionariesaasvogel, aberdevine, accentor, accipiter, aepyornis, agami, albatross, alcatras, alcid, alcidine, amadavat, amokura and 1056 more...
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More Bird Wirds: North America
Birds endemic to the United States and/or North America.
toucan, peacock, weaver, bullfinch, redpoll, siskin, crossbill, finch, rosy-finch, oriole, cowbird, blackbird and 213 more...
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Mr. Wilson's Cabinet of Wonder
Being a list of words and phrases from Mr. Wilson's Cabinet of Wonder: Pronged Ants, Horned Humans, Mice on Toast, and Other Marvels of Jurassic Technology, by Lawrence Weschler.
wonder, spore, Madalena Delani, ant, rampant, obliscence, Korsakov's syndrome, memory, illusion, time, Cone of Obliscence, Plane of Experience and 95 more...
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-oons (once of more than one syllable)
Originally this list was to contain multisyllabic words that end in "oon," but as you can see from the comments, all hell broke loose.
doubloon, poltroon, spittoon, patroon, dragoon, bassoon, platoon, typhoon, rangoon, maroon, pontoon, monsoon and 96 more...
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Words Covered in Faery Dust (S)
words that evoke magic, mystery, mayhem, magnificence or anything else that glimmers in the grass
sabian symbols, saffron, sagacious, sage, salamander, sally lunn, salmon, salsify, salt water taffy, samhain, sand dollar, sandalwood and 270 more...
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Hedgepiglet
Words for things both tangible and nonanthropic
rorqual, vellus, wrasse, rainbow bee-eater, tinkershire, lemonquat, boomslang, tufted vetch, cubeb, nipplefruit, madapple, wad and 447 more...
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Lifeforms with which I'd like to comm...
Perhaps by means of animal communication.
mould, seaweed, teenager, cheesemite, dugong, spoonbill, new caledonian bu..., forb, titan arum, hydroblab, actuary, william shatner and 6 more...
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birdie
bird names that are fun to say
coot, grackle, hoatzin, jay, barnacle goose, skua, rook, grosbeak, junco, chickadee, waxwing, nuthatch and 49 more...
Tweets
Looking for tweets for spoonbill.

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