green heron
noun
A small heron of North and Central America, Butorides virescens, with a dark greenish back and wings and a chestnut neck.
- Formerly considered to be conspecific with the striated heron, B. striata, of the Old World..
Origin
Late 18th century; earliest use found in Thomas Pennant (1726–1798), naturalist, traveller, and writer.