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Glite Dictionary
flinthead

flinthead

9.9
A large wading bird like a stork with a long bill that curves downward and lives in American swamps
  • noun
  • /flɪntˌhɛd/
  • Archaic
translation icon : cigüeña de madera
  • With its long, curved bill, the flinthead is easily identifiable among other storks.

Examples

  • The flinthead is often seen wading through shallow waters in search of fish.

  • Some are endangered, such as the "old flinthead" wood storks.

    Academic text (2004)

  • "Polo, this is my brother Ben and his kid Dylan." "Flinthead," Allison said.

    Fiction book (1998)

  • Birdwatchers flock to the wetlands to catch a glimpse of the rare flinthead in its natural habitat.

Synonyms

wood stork
vsflinthead
  • US
1 7.4

A large wading bird with a long curved bill and a bald head that lives in American swamps

is the scientific label rather than the common English name
Mycteria americana
vsflinthead
  • Specialized
9.9

A large stork with a long curved bill that wades in warm American wetlands

is the everyday name rather than the formal Latin species name
wood ibis
vsflinthead
  • US
8.9

A large wading bird with a long bill that curves down and lives in wooded swamps in the Americas

emphasises classification as a stork rather than resemblance to an ibis

Surface Forms

flinthead singular
flintheads plural

Morphology

flinthead = flint + head (semi-transparent) = flint + head

The compound is formally analyzable as 'flint' + 'head', but the specific meaning (a species name for a stork) is not directly derivable for learners from the components alone.

Etymology

The word flinthead comes from flint, a 'hard stone' used to make sharp tools, and head, because the bird has a strong, stone-like bill and head. So a flinthead is a stork named for its tough, downward-curved bill.