great crested tern

noun

: a large tern (Sterna bergii synonym Thalasseus bergii) of Africa, Asia, and Australia with a yellow bill and prominent black crest

My fellow expedition members brandished binoculars and pointed out birds on a sandbar: purple herons, great crested terns …

—Henry Allen, Forbes, 9 May 1994

called also crested tern, greater crested tern, large crested tern

Word History

First Known Use

1994, in the meaning defined above

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