spur-winged, a. Ornith.
[f. spur n.1]
Having one or more stiff claws or spurs projecting from the pinion-bone of the wing. In specific names (see quots.).
| a. 1668 Charleton Onomast. 116 Anser Chilensis,..the Spur-wing'd Goose of America. 1785 Latham Gen. Synop. Birds III. ii. 452 Spur-winged Goose, Anas Gambensis. 1865 Livingstone Zambesi xxi. 431 Occasionally we saw..spurwinged geese. 1879 E. P. Wright Anim. Life 333 The Spur-winged Goose (Plectropterus gambensis) is a native of West Africa. |
| b. 1755 G. Edwards Glean. Nat. Hist. ii. Pl. 280 The black-brested spur-winged Plover. 1785 Latham Gen. Synop. Birds III. i. 213 Spur-winged Plover, Charadrius spinosus. 1825 Waterton Wand. S. Amer. i. (1903) 32 The spur⁓winged plover, and a species of the curlew,..frequently rise before you. 1899 F. V. Kirby Sport E.C. Africa i. 4 The spur-winged plovers not only warn the crocodiles,..but act as tooth-picks for the saurians. |
| c. 1716 Petiveriana i. 284 The Spur-wing'd Lapwing. 1743 G. Edwards Nat. Hist. Birds I. Pl. 48 The spur-winged Water Hen. 1824 Encycl. Metrop. (1845) XVI. 537/1 The Jacana, or spur-winged water-hen (Parra Chilensis), is a beautiful bird with very long feet. 1829 Griffith tr. Cuvier VIII. 600 Spur-winged Swan, Anas Gambensis. 1897 Daily News 16 Nov. 6/2 The Spur-winged Lapwing of La Plata. |