Skip to main content
Glite Dictionary
Ixobrychus exilis

Ixobrychus exilis

9.9
A small marsh bird from North and Central America that hides in reeds
  • noun
  • /aɪˈzoʊbrɪkəs ˈɛksɪlɪs/
  • Specialized
translation icon : Ixobrychus exilis
  • The Ixobrychus exilis is rarely seen because it hides in dense reed beds.

Examples

  • Wetlands conservation is vital for the survival of the Ixobrychus exilis population.

  • Ornithologists observed several Ixobrychus exilis individuals nesting along the marsh's edge.

  • The Ixobrychus exilis is known for its elusive behavior.

  • Have you ever seen an Ixobrychus exilis in the wild?

  • Ornithologists observed several Ixobrychus exilis individuals nesting along the marsh's edge.

  • Wetlands conservation is vital for the survival of the Ixobrychus exilis population.

  • The Ixobrychus exilis is rarely seen because it hides in dense reed beds.

Synonyms

least bittern
vsIxobrychus exilis
  • US
9.9

A very small heron that hides in reeds in marshes

is the formal scientific name used in taxonomy

Surface Forms

Ixobrychus exilis singular
Ixobrychus exilis plural

Morphology

Ixobrychus + exilis

This is a Latin taxonomic binomial rather than a compositional English phrase; the label names a species (the least bittern) and functions as a scientific name, not a phrase whose meaning follows from common English words. Even if one recognized the genus as a type of bittern and 'exilis' as a Latin element meaning small/slender, that knowledge is specialized and not accessible to an average B1 learner, so the overall meaning is not derivable from the constituents.

Etymology

Ixobrychus exilis may come from old words that describe a tiny bird of the reeds: Ixobrychus points to a reed bittern and exilis is Latin for 'small'. So the name paints a picture of a very small bittern hiding in marsh reeds, which matches the bird we call the least bittern today.