pin-tailed

American  

[pin-teyld] / ˈpɪnˌteɪld /

adjective

Ornithology.

1. having a tapered tail with long, pointed central feathers.

2. having the feathers of the tail stiff, narrow, and pointed.

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Etymology

Origin of pin-tailed

First recorded in 1870–75

Example Sentences

Native reptiles and birds, including the Be’er Sheva fringe-fingered lizard, the pin-tailed sandgrouse and the spectacled warbler, are now fall easy prey for crows and jays perched in the tree branches.

From Salon • Nov. 20, 2024

Occasionally eider and pin-tailed duck were shot, as well as a few brent-geese, but these birds appeared remarkably shy and wary, although evidently here to breed.

From Stray Leaves from an Arctic Journal; or, Eighteen Months in the Polar Regions, in Search of Sir John Franklin's Expedition, in the Years 1850-51 by Osborn, Sherard

Several golden plovers, Canadian grosbeaks, crossbills, woodpeckers and pin-tailed grouse were shot today; and Mr. Back killed a small striped marmot.

From The Journey to the Polar Sea by Franklin, John

Several migrating birds were seen in September at 17,000 feet and above, among them Temminck's stint, painted snipe, pin-tailed snipe, house-martin and several pipits.

From Mount Everest the Reconnaissance, 1921 by Howard-Bury, Charles Kenneth

A couple of pin-tailed ducks were shot, the only pair seen; the black kind were more numerous, but were not fired at, as they are fishing ducks, and, therefore, not good to eat.

From Narrative of a Second Expedition to the Shores of the Polar Sea by Franklin, John