Mother Carey's chicken

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

The cape petrel, or pintado bird; the small blue one, which is always seen at sea, and the small black one, or Mother Carey's chicken, are not here in great numbers.

From A General History and Collection of Voyages and Travels — Volume 15 Forming A Complete History Of The Origin And Progress Of Navigation, Discovery, And Commerce, By Sea And Land, From The Earliest Ages To The Present Time by Kerr, Robert

It is known to every English sailor by the name of Mother Carey's chicken.

From Wanderings in South America by Waterton, Charles

I am never tired of the calms, and I enjoy a stiff gale like a Mother Carey’s chicken, so long as I can be on deck or in the captain’s cabin. 

From Letters from the Cape by Duff Gordon, Lucie, Lady

I can repeat something, in the fairy-tale style, which was told me by Mother Carey's chicken, when we were waiting for the nestling to grow strong enough for us to make our journey.

From The Cricket's Friends Tales Told by the Cricket, Teapot, and Saucepan by Johnson, Virginia W.

There is another interesting thing about Mother Carey's chicken, and that is, that he is also called petrel, from the Italian 'Petrello,' or Little Peter.

From Storyology Essays in Folk-Lore, Sea-Lore, and Plant-Lore by Taylor, Benjamin