windhover

[ wind-huhv-er, -hov- ]
/ ˈwɪndˌhʌv ər, -ˌhɒv- /

noun

the kestrel, Falco tinnunculus.

Origin of windhover

1665–75; wind1 + hover; from its hovering flight, head to the wind

Example sentences from the Web for windhover

  • The kestrel or windhover acts in quite a different fashion to the sparrow-hawk.

    Poachers and Poaching |John Watson
  • As illustrating a remarkable quality of flight, the case of the kestrel or windhover may be taken.

    Poachers and Poaching |John Watson
  • But the greatest of all exponents in the art of hovering is the kestrel, known also, for this very reason, as the “windhover.”

    Birds in Flight |W. P. Pycraft

British Dictionary definitions for windhover

windhover
/ (ˈwɪndˌhɒvə) /

noun

British a dialect name for a kestrel