The Collaborative International Dictionary
Hesperornis \Hes`pe*ror"nis\, n. [NL., fr. Gr. ? western + ?, ?, a bird.] (Paleon.) A genus of large, extinct, wingless birds from the Cretaceous deposits of Kansas, belonging to the Odontornithes. They had teeth, and were essentially carnivorous swimming ostriches. Several species are known. See Illust. in Append.
Wikipedia
'Hesperornis ' (meaning "western bird") is a genus of flightless aquatic birds that spanned the first half of the Campanian age of the Late Cretaceous period (83.5–78 mya). One of the lesser-known discoveries of the paleontologist O. C. Marsh in the late 19th century Bone Wars, it was an early find in the history of avian paleontology. Locations for Hesperornis fossils include the Late Cretaceous marine limestones from Kansas and the marine shales from Canada. Nine species are recognised, eight of which have been recovered from rocks in North America and one from Russia.
Usage examples of "hesperornis".
Sparrow and I sat on his antique swinging divan, facing out across the plantation lawn, looking out over the pond, where a little family of hesperornis sailed in stately formation, Sinclair catty-corner in a chair, closer to Sparrow than me.