songbird

[ sawng-burd, song- ]

noun

1. a bird that sings.
2. any passerine bird of the suborder Oscines.
3. Slang. a woman vocalist.

songbird

/ ˈsɒŋˌbɜːd /

noun

1. any passerine bird of the suborder Oscines, having highly developed vocal organs and, in most, a musical call oscine
2. any bird having a musical call

Word History and Origins

Origin of songbird¹

First recorded in 1765–75; song + bird

Example Sentences

The stocky songbird normally travels between the eastern United States and lowland South American forests twice a year.

From BBC

The fire also swept through parts of the island that have rare habitats for sensitive plant and animal species found nowhere else, such as the endangered San Clemente loggerhead shrike, a carnivorous songbird.

From Los Angeles Times

“My Heart Will Go On” songbird Céline Dion reportedly is set to take the Olympics stage in her first live performance since her diagnosis with stiff-person syndrome brought her career to a halt in late 2022.

From Los Angeles Times

Together, they duetted on Stop Dragging My Heart Around and Landslide, while Styles wore an embroidered songbird badge, referring to McVie's track Songbird from the 1977 album, Rumours.

From BBC

The research points toward ways Angelenos -- and people elsewhere -- can make their city more hospitable not only to urban-tolerant species such as coyotes, but also to species that usually avoid cities, such as wrentits, a small songbird.

From Science Daily