white-headed stilt
- noun
- Australian
:
zancuda de cabeza blanca
- The white-headed stilt is easily recognized by its striking black-and-white plumage.
Examples
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Birdwatchers travelled from across the country to photograph the rare white-headed stilt at the wetland reserve.
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A flock of white-headed stilts can often be seen near the shallow lagoons of New Zealand.
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Look at that white-headed stilt!
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The white-headed stilt is a unique bird found in Australia.
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A flock of white-headed stilts can often be seen near the shallow lagoons of New Zealand.
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Birdwatchers travelled from across the country to photograph the rare white-headed stilt at the wetland reserve.
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The white-headed stilt is easily recognized by its striking black-and-white plumage.
Synonyms
A long-legged bird with a white body and black wings that lives in Australia and New Zealand
Surface Forms
Morphology
white-headed + stilt
The noun phrase is a straightforward adjective + noun composition: a 'stilt' is a long-legged wading bird and 'white-headed' describes the bird having a white head, so the overall meaning (a stilt with a white head) is directly derivable from the parts. This adjectival modification pattern is common and cross-linguistically transparent, so a B1 learner who knows both constituents should understand the referent.
Etymology
White-headed stilt is a picture name for the bird: it has a bright white head and very long legs that look like a stilt, a long pole people stand on to walk above the ground. So the name points to the bird's white head and stilt-like legs, which is why we call this bird the 'white-headed stilt'.
