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passerine
[ pas-er-in, -uh-rahyn, -uh-reen ]
adjective
- of, belonging, or pertaining to the order Passeriformes, comprising more than half of all birds and typically having the feet adapted for perching.
noun
- any bird of the order Passeriformes.
passerine
/ ˈpæsəˌraɪn; -ˌriːn /
adjective
- of, relating to, or belonging to the Passeriformes, an order of birds characterized by the perching habit: includes the larks, finches, crows, thrushes, starlings, etc
noun
- any bird belonging to the order Passeriformes
passerine
/ păs′ə-rīn′ /
- Belonging to the avian order Passeriformes, which includes the perching birds. Passerine birds make up more than half of all living birds. They are of small to medium size, have three toes pointing forward and one pointing back, and are often brightly colored. Larks, swallows, jays, crows, wrens, thrushes, cardinals, finches, sparrows, and blackbirds are all passerine birds.
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Other Words From
- non·passer·ine adjective noun
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Word History and Origins
Origin of passerine1
1770–80; < Latin passerīnus of a sparrow, equivalent to passer sparrow + -īnus -ine 1
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Word History and Origins
Origin of passerine1
C18: from Latin passer sparrow
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Example Sentences
There are not more than about twenty species of small passerine birds that live all the year in London proper.
From Project Gutenberg
Strepera, strep′e-ra, n. an Australian genus of corvine passerine birds, the crow-shrikes.
From Project Gutenberg
Turdus, tur′dus, n. a genus of Passerine birds of the Turdid family, the thrushes.
From Project Gutenberg
Tyran′nid, a family of Passerine birds, the typical genus Tyran′nus, the tyrant-birds or tyrant-flycatchers.
From Project Gutenberg
The pie, the gallinaceous, the columbine and passerine tribes resort to the fruit- bearing trees.
From Project Gutenberg
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