water hen
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water hen
also wa·ter·hen (wô′tər-hĕn′, wŏt′ər-)n.
Any of various waterbirds of the family Rallidae, as the gallinule, rail, or coot, that inhabit marshland.
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
water hen
n
(Animals) another name for gallinule
Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014
wa′ter hen`
or wa′ter•hen`,
n.
1. moorhen.
2. the American coot, Fulica americana.
[1520–30]
Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary, © 2010 K Dictionaries Ltd. Copyright 2005, 1997, 1991 by Random House, Inc. All rights reserved.
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Noun | 1. | water hen - a coot found in North America Fulica, genus Fulica - coots coot - slate-black slow-flying birds somewhat resembling ducks |
2. | water hen - any of various small aquatic birds of the genus Gallinula distinguished from rails by a frontal shield and a resemblance to domestic hens aquatic bird - wading and swimming and diving birds of either fresh or salt water Gallinula, genus Gallinula - gallinules Florida gallinule, Gallinula chloropus cachinnans - North American dark bluish-grey gallinule Gallinula chloropus, moorhen - black gallinule that inhabits ponds and lakes purple gallinule - gallinules with showy purplish plumage |
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