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passerine Definition

pas·ser·ine (pas′ər in, -īn′)

adjective

of or pertaining to an order (Passeriformes) of small or medium-sized, chiefly perching songbirds having grasping feet with the first toe directed backward: more than half of all birds are included

Etymology: L passerinus < passer, a sparrow

noun

any such bird

passerine Usage Examples

Preposition: of

note: The only passerines of note were a few warblers, reduced from last week to 17 Willow Warbler and 2 Garden Warbler.

Converse of object

  • see: However, failed breeders are often noted returning south, with waders and gulls passing through and the occasional passerine seen.
  • winter: Wintering Palearctic passerines were in general not conspicuous - Woodchat Shrike was a particularly glaring omission.
  • migrate: The entire coastline is good for sea watching and also highly attractive to migrating passerines with many rarities recorded.
  • breed: Scrub areas are important for breeding passerines including Whitethroat Sylvia communis and Grasshopper Warbler Locustella naevia ( D. Bullock pers. comm.
  • attract: Vedi Hills An arid gorge with a natural spring attracting many passerines to drink.
  • seed-eating: Recent population changes among seed-eating passerines in the United Kingdom.

Adjective modifier

  • migrant: This turned out to be the only migrant passerine I saw for the whole week!
  • common: The common passerines were at their most abundant on this peninsula.
  • small: Thus, any triangle of velocities could not direct a small passerine into our longitude.
  • few: A small Barranco still held water and had attracted a few small passerines.
  • other: Also seen in fields with other passerines in the Pyrenean valleys.
  • many: Vedi Hills An arid gorge with a natural spring attracting many passerines to drink.

Modifies a noun

  • migrant: Almost all passerine migrants that have been ringed at Ngulia must have passed through Ethiopia.
  • migration: Here, the passerine migration seemed to have finally got into full swing, with large numbers of swallows.
  • bird: No evidence for malaria infection during the nestling phase in a passerine bird ( submitted ).
  • specie: The plan for the day was to see a number of the missing passerine species, at various sites on the way south.
  • activity: Passerine activity was low, with everything seeming to be very quiet.
  • passage: July 27th Autumn passerine passage continued to verge on the non-existent, but there was still plenty of interest today.

Preposition: in

valley: Also seen in fields with other passerines in the Pyrenean valleys.