spoonbill

Dictionary of Australasian Words Phrases and Usages by Edward E. Morris

n.


a bird-name widely used.The Australian species are – – Royal Spoonbill – – Platalea regia.

Yellow-billed S. – – P. flavipes.

P. regia has a fine crest in the breeding season;hence the name.

1863. M. K. Beveridge, `Gatherings among Gum-trees,' p. 79:

«The sun is sinking in the western sky,

And ibises and spoonbills thither fly.

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