any of several crepuscular or nocturnal wading birds of the family Burhinidae, of the Old World and tropical America, having a thickened joint between the femoral and tibiotarsal bones.
thick-knee (thĭk'nē') n. Any of various widely distributed, chiefly nocturnal, curlewlike shore birds of the family Burhinidae, having large heads, large yellow eyes, and knobby leg joints.