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Glite Dictionary
Podiceps ruficollis

Podiceps ruficollis

9.9
A small diving water bird in Europe called the little grebe
  • noun
  • Specialized
translation icon : zampullín chico
  • During our walk by the lake, we spotted a Podiceps ruficollis diving for food.

Examples

  • Birdwatchers in Europe often hope to glimpse a Podiceps ruficollis among the reeds.

  • The distinctive call of the Podiceps ruficollis echoed across the water.

  • Look at that Podiceps ruficollis swimming gracefully!

  • Wow, a Podiceps ruficollis!

  • Birdwatchers in Europe often hope to glimpse a Podiceps ruficollis among the reeds.

  • During our walk by the lake, we spotted a Podiceps ruficollis diving for food.

  • The distinctive call of the Podiceps ruficollis echoed across the water.

Synonyms

little grebe
vsPodiceps ruficollis
  • UK
8.6

Small brown water bird with a short neck that swims and dives on ponds

is the scientific Latin name for the same small European species
dabchick
vsPodiceps ruficollis
9.9

A small water bird with a short neck that dives for fish and insects

is the scientific Latin name for the same species

Surface Forms

Podiceps ruficollis singular
Podiceps ruficollis plural

Morphology

Podiceps + ruficollis

This is a scientific Latin binomial that functions as a proper name for a species rather than a compositional English phrase; its meaning is not transparently built from everyday English words. One constituent ('ruficollis') is not an English word and even if its Latin roots were known ('rufus' = red, 'collis/col- = neck'), most B1 learners would not parse Latin morphology, so the referent (a little grebe) is not predictable from the parts.

Etymology

Podiceps ruficollis comes from Latin words that describe the bird. Podiceps means 'rear foot' because its legs are set far back so it sits low in the water, and ruficollis means 'red neck' for the reddish neck it shows at times, so the name helps you picture this small diving bird.