snowy egret
1
7.7
- noun
- /ˈsnoʊi ˈiːɡrɪt/
- US
:
garceta blanca
- Twelve mallards, four Canadian geese, and two snowy egrets linger by the pond.
- snowy egret and glossy
- snowy egrets and great
Examples
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A snowy egret hunting in the marsh grass endures the boat's passage.
Academic text (1994) -
They're also worried that the cormorants are pushing other birds, such as the snowy egret, off the island.
Academic text (2009) -
Eagles soared overhead, and occasionally, flapping through the darkening sky, was a snowy egret.
Fiction book (2000) -
As he rounded the northern edge of a clearing, he could make out the gangly shape of a blue heron standing on one foot in the meadow, and a short distance further, a snowy egret.
Fiction book (1996) -
Great Blue Herons, Snowy Egrets, and Great Egrets are plentiful, and both the herons and egrets nest at Bluefish Cove.
Academic text (2006) -
I spotted a snowy egret gracefully walking along the edge of the pond.
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The snowy egret stood still, waiting patiently to catch a fish in the clear water.
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During our nature walk, we admired a snowy egret perched on a branch near the lake.
Synonyms
11
2.0
A large bird with long legs and neck that wades to catch fish
7
6.3
A long-legged white bird with thin feathers that lives near water
A small white bird with thin black legs and bright yellow feet
A small white bird with a thin black bill, black legs, and yellow feet
Surface Forms
Morphology
The phrase is a straightforward adjective + noun composition: 'snowy' means white and 'egret' is a white heron, so the combined meaning 'a white egret' is directly derivable from the parts. This descriptive, non-idiomatic naming pattern follows regular cross-linguistic adjective-noun composition and would be understandable to a B1 learner who knows both words.
Etymology
Snowy egret The name snowy egret comes from the bird's bright white feathers that look like 'snow' and from the word egret, which names a small, graceful heron, so the name simply means a small white heron known for its delicate feathers.