Definitions

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun The golden-eyed duck, Clangula glaucion. Also whistle-duck, whistling duck.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • noun (Zoöl.) The American golden-eye.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun The American goldeneye.

Etymologies

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

whistle +‎ wing?

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Examples

  • The unsuspecting birds, deceived into full security, eagerly pursued their pastime or their prey, and it was no difficult matter for the hidden archer to hit many a black duck or teal or whistlewing, as it floated securely on the placid water, or rose to shift its place a few yards up or down the stream.

    Canadian Crusoes Catharine Parr Strickland Traill 1850

  • The unsuspecting birds, deceived into full security, eagerly pursued their pastime or their prey, and it was no difficult matter for the hidden archer to hit many a black duck, or teal, or whistlewing, as it floated securely on the placid water, or rose to shift its place a few yards up or down the stream.

    Lost in the Backwoods Catharine Parr Strickland Traill 1850

  • The silence of the forest was unbroken, save by the quick tapping of the little midland woodpecker or the shrill scream of the blue jay, the whirring sound of the large white-and-gray duck (called by the frequenters of these lonely waters the whistlewing) as its wings swept the waters in its flight, or the light dripping of the paddle, -- so still, so quiet was the scene.

    Lost in the Backwoods Catharine Parr Strickland Traill 1850

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