From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishcurlewcur‧lew /ˈkɜːljuː $ ˈkɜːrluː/ noun [countable] HBBa bird with long legs and a long beak that lives near water
Examples from the Corpus
curlew• I could see a heron standing motionless, and a curlew dabbling by the shore.• Below the wood, a curlew started from the grass and winged beneath us, its mate calling from across the dale.• In all probability these late reports confuse the species with the Hudsonian curlew.• No moor land is complete without its curlew overhead.• The last great flight of curlew landed on Cape Cod two decades later.• As we taxied to a halt on the coastal grassy runway, we disturbed parties of curlew, sandpipers and grey plover.• For the curlew, protection came too late.• She must be like the curlew, and concentrate all her energy on those who needed her.Origin curlew (1300-1400) Old French corlieu, from the sound it makes 