water bird
1
1.7
- noun
- /ˈwɔːtər bɜrd/
- At the park, I saw a variety of water birds swimming gracefully on the lake.
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Watch on YouTubeBirds flock to water, water birds flock to water.
- Birds flock to water, water birds flock to water.
Examples
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During spring, many different species of water birds can be found near the river.
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Today the park spreads over 11 square miles (29 sq. km) of wetlands, attracting a wide variety of migrant and water birds that fly in each winter from places as distant as Siberia.
Academic text (2005) -
I found the chapter on water birds very interesting.
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What's so great about water birds, anyway?
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The only bird it could have been is an American egret, a water bird.
Blog text (4) -
I sit in our kitchen and read hunting magazines, and I imagine stalking water birds.
Fiction book (1991) -
I sat up to push myself free, and just there in the middle of the reeds was a water bird's nest.
Fiction book (1994) -
Swimming and boating are forbidden, but seasonally the migrating water birds rest on the placid surface as they make their way south.
Fiction book (2002) -
Other animals such as otter, beaver, porcupine, seal, water birds, and other fowl were used for food and clothing according to the yearly cycle.
Academic text (2002) -
Like one of those fine-drawn, delicately balanced water birds, like a crane or a heron, which in the first instant after being startled remains poised, waiting, all attention centered on being primed to take off.
Fiction book (1996)
Synonyms
8
3.5
Birds that live near fresh water, like ducks, geese, and swans
1
2.4
A bird that lives near fresh water and swims or wades
1
3.5
A bird that lives near water and can swim, wade or dive
How Aquatic
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning 'a bird that lives on or around water' is directly and transparently derivable from the constituents 'water' + 'bird' via a common English noun-noun attributive pattern. This simple compositional structure is cross-linguistically widespread and would be immediately understandable to a B1 learner who knows both words.
Etymology
The noun water bird is a simple name made of water and bird, creating a clear picture of a bird by the water. Imagine a bird with webbed feet floating, swimming, or diving at a lake shore — that's why water bird means 'a bird that lives on or around water'.