Definitions
from The Century Dictionary.
- noun The American night-heron, Nyctiardea grisea nævia.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- noun (Zoöl.) The American night heron. See under
night .
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- noun The
American night heron .
Etymologies
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
Support
Help support Wordnik (and make this page ad-free) by adopting the word qua-bird.
Examples
-
At night other sounds are heard, less agreeable to the ear: the shrill "chirrup" of cicadas and tree-toads ringing so incessantly, that only when they cease do you become conscious of their existence; the dull "gluck-gluck" of the great bullfrog; the sharp cries of the heron and _qua-bird_; and the sepulchral screech of the great horned owl.
The Wild Huntress Love in the Wilderness Mayne Reid 1850
-
The qua-bird screamed; the swamp-owl hooted; the bullfrog uttered his trumpet-note; and the hideous alligator, horribly bellowing from his gaunt jaws, crawled sulkily out of my way, at times appearing as if he would turn and assail me!
The Quadroon Adventures in the Far West Mayne Reid 1850
-
It woke the grallatores of the swamp -- the qua-bird, the curlews, and the tall blue herons -- who screamed in concert.
The Quadroon Adventures in the Far West Mayne Reid 1850
reesetee commented on the word qua-bird
Regional U.S. nickname for the Black-Crowned Night Heron. See also quawk.
October 10, 2008