guanay

[ gwuh-nahy; Spanish gwah-nahy ]

noun

, plural gua·nay·es [gw, uh, -, nahy, -eys, gwah-, nah, -yes], gua·nays.

1. a cormorant, Phalacrocorax bougainvillii, of islands off the coasts of Peru and Chile, a chief source of guano.

Word History and Origins

Origin of guanay¹

First recorded in 1855–60; from South American Spanish guanae, apparently as back formation from Colonial Spanish huanaes, as plural of huano guano, taken as the name of the bird that produced it

Example Sentences

One of the rescued birds - a black-and-white Guanay cormorant - looked monochrome black, its white chest and belly covered in oil.

From Reuters

Before the spill, the island was home to 160,000 Guanay cormorants, according to Sernanp, as well as a large number of Peruvian boobys and Humboldt penguins.

From Reuters

Each guanay, it figures, eats 240 lbs. of anchovetas a year, processing its catch into 33 lbs. of guano.

From Time Magazine Archive