What is "sea swallow"

Chough \Chough\, n. [OE. choughe, kowe (and cf. OE. ca), fr. AS. ce['o]; cf. also D. kauw, OHG. ch[=a]ha; perh. akin to E. caw. [root]22. Cf. Caddow.] (Zo["o]l.) A bird of the Crow family ( Fregilus graculus) of Europe. It is of a black color, with a long, slender, curved bill and red legs; -- also called chauk, chauk-daw, chocard, Cornish chough, red-legged crow. The name is also applied to several allied birds, as the Alpine chough.

Cornish chough (Her.), a bird represented black, with red feet, and beak; -- called also aylet and sea swallow. [1913 Webster] ||

Fairy \Fair"y\, a.

1. Of or pertaining to fairies.

2. Given by fairies; as, fairy money.
   --Dryden.

   Fairy bird (Zo["o]l.), the Euoropean little tern ( Sterna minuta); -- called also sea swallow, and hooded tern.

   Fairy bluebird. (Zo["o]l.) See under Bluebird.

   Fairy martin (Zo["o]l.), a European swallow ( Hirrundo ariel) that builds flask-shaped nests of mud on overhanging cliffs.

   Fairy rings or Fairy circles, the circles formed in grassy lawns by certain fungi (as Marasmius Oreades), formerly supposed to be caused by fairies in their midnight dances; also, the mushrooms themselves. Such circles may have diameters larger than three meters.

   Fairy shrimp (Zo["o]l.), a European fresh-water phyllopod crustacean ( Chirocephalus diaphanus); -- so called from its delicate colors, transparency, and graceful motions. The name is sometimes applied to similar American species.

   Fairy stone (Paleon.), an echinite.

n. (context UK English) The common tern.

n. common tern of Eurasia and America having white black and gray plumage [syn: Sterna hirundo]

Sea swallow may refer to:

• the common tern, Sterna hirundo, a seabird of the tern family Sternidae
• Glaucus atlanticus, a pelagic aeolid nudibranch