Shovelbill

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A large wading bird of African swamps, named for its broad, shoe-shaped bill used to catch fish and lungfish
2. The shoebill, a tall marsh-dwelling bird of central Africa with a massive, wide bill resembling a clog
3. A big grey stork-like bird found in African wetlands, recognized by its enormous flat-topped, shoe-shaped beak

Etymology: A shovelbill is a bird whose broad, flattened beak is shaped like a spade, and the name is a plain compound of two English words: "shovel," the digging tool, and "bill," the old word for a bird's beak. The combination describes the bird at a glance, so the name needed no invention beyond joining the two. The "bill" half is older and more widespread than it looks. It reaches back to Old English and was used for a bird's beak long before it came to mean a printed notice or a legislative proposal. The sense of a flattened, scooped beak is what the name leans on, and it is why this compound works so well as a description.

Synonyms: shoebill, whale-headed stork