hammerkop, noun
- Forms:
- Also hammercop.
- Plurals:
- hammerkops, or hammerkoppe /ˈhæməkɔpə/.
- Origin:
- AfrikaansShow more Englished form of Afrikaans hamerkop, see hamerkop.
The wading bird Scopus umbretta, the sole species represented in the family Scopidae, characterized by its brown colour, heavy crest, and large bill; hamerkop; hammerhead; paddavanger; tegwaan. Also attributive.
- Note:
- Considered by some to be a bird of ill-omen: see impundulu.
a1827 D. Carmichael in W.J. Hooker Botanical Misc. (1831) II. 52The Branaa valley..is a tract of marshy ground..harbouring..hammerkops, sand-larks and pipers.
1988 T.J. Lindsay Shadow (1990) 312Then he saw the hammerkop nest built of reeds, grass, twigs, and everything else obtained from close at hand.
The wading bird Scopus umbretta, the sole species represented in the family Scopidae, characterized by its brown colour, heavy crest, and large bill; hamerkop; hammerhead; paddavanger; tegwaan. Also attributive.
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