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Glite Dictionary
🦆 A duck 🪶 A heron 🐦 A small bird
broadbill

broadbill

9.0
A duck with a broad flat bill often seen on northern lakes
  • noun
  • /ˈbrɔːdˌbɪl/
  • Specialized
translation icon : pato cuchara
  • The broadbill is a distinct type of duck with a broad, flat bill, commonly seen in North America.

Examples

  • The broadbill duck can be identified by its wide, flat bill that distinguishes it from other waterfowl.

  • Birdwatchers often spot the broadbill in wetlands, where its unique bill helps it forage for food.

  • An exception might be the nighttime longline fishery for broadbill swordfish, which has been operating for too short a time to evaluate.

    Academic text (1993)

  • Night fishing employs luminescent "light sticks" which attract broadbill swordfish and bigeye tuna or their prey (Berkley et al., 1981).

    Academic text (1993)

  • This flexibility was demonstrated by the switch from traditional deep daytime fishing for bigeye tuna to shallow nighttime fishing, targeting broadbill swordfish in the 1990s (Ito2).

    Academic text (1993)

Synonyms

shoveler
vsbroadbill
1 7.7

A freshwater duck with a broad flat bill for catching food in water

emphasizes broad flat bill shape and geographic occurrence
Anas clypeata
vsbroadbill
  • Specialized
9.9

A freshwater duck with a broad flat bill found in northern lakes and wetlands

is the everyday English name for the same species

Surface Forms

broadbill singular
broadbills plural

Morphology

broadbill = broad + bill (transparent) = broad + bill

Literal compound: the name describes a bird with a broad (wide) bill, so knowing the parts lets learners infer the meaning.

Etymology

Broadbill comes from the plain English parts broad ('wide') and bill ('beak'). It was used for this duck because its wide, flat bill is the most obvious feature, so the name helps you picture and identify the bird on the water.