the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English
n. The black skimmer. See skimmer.
The Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
n. The scissorbill, cutwater, or black skimmer; the bird Rhynchops nigra: so called from the bill, which resembles a pair of shears. See cut under Rhynchops.
Word Usage
"His cheeks thus pulled into shadow while the light flickered across nose and brow, he looked disquietingly like a shearbill about to stoop on prey."