short-tailed shearwater

[ shawrt-teyld ]
/ ˈʃɔrtˌteɪld /

noun

See under mutton bird.

Definition for short-tailed shearwater (2 of 2)

mutton bird

or mut·ton-bird


noun

any of several long-winged seabirds, often used as food, especially Puffinus tenuirostris (short-tailed shearwater) of Australia and Puffinus griseus (sooty shearwater), which breeds in the Southern Hemisphere and winters in the Northern Hemisphere.

Origin of mutton bird

First recorded in 1840–50

British Dictionary definitions for short-tailed shearwater

short-tailed shearwater

noun

Australian a large Australian shearwater that migrates to the northern hemisphere in the southern winter