U.S. Also 8 quaw-. [f. qua, imitative of its note + BIRD.] The Night Heron of North America, Nycticorax nævius or Gardeni.
1789–96. Morse, Amer. Geog., I. 212. Quaw-bird or Frog Catcher.
1835. Penny Cycl., IV. 471. The Night Heron or Qua Bird … is found in both the old and new world.
1890. E. Gosse, Life P. H. Gosse, 115. Thompson’s Point, the former residence of the night-heron or qua-bird.
