avocet

av·o·cet

A0549200 (ăv′ə-sĕt′)n. Any of several long-legged shorebirds of the genus Recurvirostra, characterized by a long, slender, upturned beak.

[French avocette, from New Latin avocetta, misspelling of avosetta, from Italian, from Venetian, probably from Vulgar Latin *avis sitta : Latin avis, bird; see awi- in Indo-European roots + Greek sittē, a kind of woodpecker or nuthatch (probably of onomatopoeic origin and imitative of the bird's sound).]

avocet

(ˈævəˌsɛt) n (Animals) any of several long-legged shore birds of the genus Recurvirostra, such as the European R. avosetta, having black-and-white plumage and a long upward-curving bill: family Recurvirostridae, order Charadriiformes[C18: from French avocette, from Italian avocetta, of uncertain origin]

av•o•cet

(ˈæv əˌsɛt)

n. any of several long-legged shorebirds of the genus Recurvirostra, of both the Old and New Worlds, having a long, slender, upward-curving bill. [1760–70; < French avocette, probably erroneous sp. for New Latin avosetta < Italian < Venetian]

Thesaurus

Noun

avocet - long-legged web-footed black-and-white shorebird with slender upward-curving billlimicoline bird, shore bird, shorebird - any of numerous wading birds that frequent mostly seashores and estuariesgenus Recurvirostra, Recurvirostra - type genus of the Recurvirostridae: avocets

Translations

avocetta

avocet

enUK

avocet

(ăv`əsĕt), common name for a long-legged wading bird about 15 to 18 in. (37.5–45 cm) long, related to the snipe and belonging to the same family as the stilt. The American avocet or blacknecked stilt, Himantopus mexicanus, and the Australian avocet have black and white bodies and brown heads; the African and Eurasian species are black and white and are strikingly visible at distances. Avocets, like stilts, are wetland inhabitants. By sweeping their long, thin, upwardly curved bills through shallow water and mud, they capture small water animals, such as crustaceans, mollusks, amphibians, fishes, and insects; other insects are caught on the wing. Avocets have shrill calls, but also have a soft flutelike song. They breed gregariously. The female lays from three to five eggs per clutch in a shallow depression in the ground, which may be lined with small stones and grass. Avocets are classified in the phylum ChordataChordata
, phylum of animals having a notochord, or dorsal stiffening rod, as the chief internal skeletal support at some stage of their development. Most chordates are vertebrates (animals with backbones), but the phylum also includes some small marine invertebrate animals.
..... Click the link for more information. , subphylum Vertebrata, class Aves, order Charadriiformes, family Recurvirostridae.

Bibliography

See P. Ehrlich et al., Birders Handbook (1988).

avocet

any of several long-legged shore birds of the genus Recurvirostra, such as the European R. avosetta, having black-and-white plumage and a long upward-curving bill: family Recurvirostridae, order Charadriiformes

avocet

av·o·cet

avocet

av•o•cet

avocet

avocet

Bibliography

avocet

avocet

Words related to avocet

noun long-legged web-footed black-and-white shorebird with slender upward-curving bill

Related Words