passerine Hear it!

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

Webster's New World College Dictionary Copyright © 2009 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

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