uropygium

American  

[yoor-uh-pij-ee-uhm] / ˌyʊər əˈpɪdʒ i əm /

noun

Ornithology.

1. the projecting terminal portion of a bird's body, from which the tail feathers spring.

---

uropygium British  

/ ˌjʊərəˈpɪdʒɪəm /

noun

1. the hindmost part of a bird's body, from which the tail feathers grow

---

Other Word Forms

• uropygial adjective

Etymology

Origin of uropygium

1805–15; < New Latin < Greek ouropȳ́gion, variant (with ouro- uro- ² ) of orropȳ́gion, equivalent to orro-, combining form of órros sacral bone + pȳg ( ḗ ) rump, buttocks + -ion diminutive suffix

Example Sentences

Rostrum pedesque rubri; collum totum nigrum; tectrices inferiores primores fuscae, secondariae albae, ad carpum et ad marginem exteriorem nigro-variegatae; fascia alarum angusta; remiges primores supra nigrae, subtus fuscae; uropygium album parce nigro variegatum.

From Narrative of a Survey of the Intertropical and Western Coasts of Australia Performed between the years 1818 and 1822 — Volume 2 by King, Phillip Parker

The uropygium also, which in the European bird is entirely white, is in our specimen partially variegated with black.

From Narrative of a Survey of the Intertropical and Western Coasts of Australia Performed between the years 1818 and 1822 — Volume 2 by King, Phillip Parker

Seaside Sparrows have a mid-dorsal row of downs in the dorsal tract near the uropygium.

From Comparative Breeding Behavior of Ammospiza caudacuta and A. maritima by Woolfenden, Glen E.

The tail length, however, is measured from the base of the uropygium to the tip of the longest pair of rectrices.

From The Subspecies of the Mountain Chickadee by Grinnell, Joseph