A British colloquial name for the red-breasted merganser (Mergus serrator), a diving duck with a serrated bill adapted for gripping fish. The 'saw' in the name refers directly to the tooth-like serrations along the edges of the beak, a useful anatomical identifier. Sawbill is also applied more broadly to other merganser species. Common enough in birdwatching circles as an informal alternative to the full name.
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UK and Irish slang — Cockney, Scouse, Geordie, Yorkshire, Glaswegian, Brummie, Welsh, West Country, plus Irish English. Centuries of regional dialects feeding into modern British and Irish street talk.
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A sawbill was working the current near the weir, diving repeatedly and coming up empty.
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(UK) The red-breasted merganser.
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