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to bird

to bird

6 7.1
To watch birds in nature as a hobby
  • verb
  • /bɜrd/
translation icon : observar aves
  • Let us say you are out birding on the trail alone.
  • go birding
  • to bird-watch

Examples

  • "I started birding when I was seventeen and have continued to enjoy it ever since.

    Blog text (3)
  • Look, when I'm birding, I don't fly first class or hire guides.

  • I have been interested in birding for many years, but only recently became serious about it.

    Blog text (5)
  • I have been out there a few times birding.

  • I still go birding most weekends.

  • You're the one that wanted to go birding.

  • November is not known for its "birdiness," but birding is birding, all the same.

    Blog text (14)
  • Audubon Ohio saw conservation potential in restoring Whittier Peninsula, where some members bird-watched.

    Blog text (29)
  • Instantly I switched back to the gatherer mode (birding being a filtered form of hunting) and waited.

    Fiction book (1991)
  • Many enthusiasts enjoy birding as a way to connect with nature during their hikes.

Synonyms

to birdwatch
vsto bird
1 3.9

To watch birds in nature for fun or study

is mainly a hobby activity rather than scientific work
to birding
vsto bird
3.5

To watch and identify wild birds for fun

focuses more on general watching and study rather than only identifying

Idioms

to flip the bird
  • Offensive
1 9.9

To show anger by holding up the middle finger at someone

1 6.0

To eat only a very small amount of food

a little bird
  • Informal
1 8.5

Someone told the speaker something without saying who

9.7

A thing someone keeps in their heart that brings comfort

8.1

You say this when you hear something but do not say who told you

People who act early are more likely to succeed

Compounds

13 2.8

A person who gets up or arrives early to gain an advantage

11 1.0

A very young bird without enough feathers to fly or leave the nest

9 3.8

A bird that hunts and eats other animals, like eagles or hawks

8 1.4

A container hung outside that holds food for wild birds

6 2.8

A person who watches wild birds for fun or study

A place where birds are protected so people can see them

A bird that cannot fly, for example an ostrich or kiwi

1 7.2

A dog that finds and brings back birds for hunters

bird of paradise
  • Australian
1 6.3

A brightly colored bird from New Guinea with showy feathers and a special mating dance

1 3.2

A bird like a pheasant that people hunt for food or sport

1 4.3

A bird active at night, like an owl

1 1.2

A baby bird that is not yet an adult

1 4.0

A bird that walks in shallow water to feed on beaches and river mouths

1 1.7

A bird that lives in or near fresh water like lakes and rivers

1 1.0

Food made or mixed for birds, often seeds and grains

1 1.0

A place where a bird lays eggs and takes care of its baby birds

1 1.3

A small yellow songbird often kept as a pet for its singing

1 7.8

Large tropical seabird with long wings and a forked tail that often steals food from other birds while flying

mynah bird
  • Indian
1 7.5

A tropical bird from Asia that copies human speech and is often kept as a pet

1 3.6

A bird with long legs that stands in shallow water to catch fish and insects

bird-footed dinosaur
  • Specialized
1 9.9

A dinosaur that eats meat and has short front legs and strong back legs for running

bird family
  • Specialized
1 4.7

A group of related birds that share similar body shape and habits

bird shot
  • Specialized
1 5.8

Small round lead pellets used in shotgun shells to hunt small birds

1 3.5

A bird that lives near water and can swim, wade or dive

myna bird
  • Indian
1 7.3

A tropical Asian bird with glossy black feathers that copies sounds

rare bird
  • Informal
1 7.7

A person who is not like most people in behavior or ideas

1 2.0

A bird that lives near the sea, like a gull

6.8

A small bird with a bright blue patch on its head often seen in gardens

A mostly white tropical bird with webbed feet and long tail feathers that lives at sea

bird app
  • Texting
8.2

An app or website where people post short public messages, like Twitter

A small wild cherry tree with red or black fruit that birds often eat

A small cherry tree with small berries that birds eat

A person who keeps and cares for birds as a hobby

1.4

Food for birds, usually a mix of seeds and grains

bird louse
  • Specialized
9.9

A small wingless insect that lives on birds and bites their skin or feathers

bird of Jove
  • Archaic
9.9

A poetic name for an eagle that often stands for power

bird of Juno
  • Archaic
9.9

A large bird from Southeast Asia that people keep for bright feathers and beauty

bird of night
  • Archaic
7.1

A bird active at night that hunts small animals, for example an owl

A person who moves from place to place and does not settle

A bird that travels to another region each year

A tropical plant with bright flowers that look like a bird in flight

8.9

A small plant from Central America with tiny red fruits that are very hot to eat

A climbing plant with dense groups of purple-blue flowers often found in fields and gardens

A small forest plant with leaves like wintergreen and pink-purple flowers

A thing that people put in fields to keep birds away from crops

8.4

A person who is very hurt inside and finds it hard to trust others

caprimulgiform bird
  • Specialized
9.9

A long-winged night bird like a nightjar that eats insects in the air

carinate bird
  • Specialized
6.9

A bird with a raised ridge on its breastbone that holds strong wing muscles

columbiform bird
  • Specialized
9.9

A bird like a pigeon or dove with a small head and short legs

A small European tree with clusters of sweet-smelling white flowers and black fruit eaten by birds

coraciiform bird
  • Specialized
9.9

A short-legged bird that lives in trees and usually nests in holes

A bird in the crow family like a crow or raven

A small African bird that eats bugs from crocodiles' mouths

cuculiform bird
  • Specialized
9.9

A bird like a cuckoo or roadrunner with two toes pointing forward and two back for perching securely

dickey-bird
  • Baby Talk
9.9

A small bird adults call when talking to children

A very large bird from Madagascar that could not fly and lived long ago

adjutant bird
  • Indian
9.9

A large stork that stands tall and walks upright in India

anseriform bird
  • Specialized
8.9

A bird with webbed feet that swims, like ducks, geese, and swans

9.9

A South American bird with dull feathers that follows army ant swarms to catch insects

apodiform bird
  • Specialized
9.9

A bird with long wings and weak feet that spends most of its time flying like swifts and hummingbirds

A small European tree that has groups of white flowers and small black fruit

fig-bird
  • Australian
9.5

A green and yellow Australian bird that eats mainly figs and other fruit

limicoline bird
  • Specialized
9.9

A bird that walks in shallow water at the sea edge to find food

A large sea bird with a long beak, very long wings, and a forked tail that flies over warm seas

moor-bird
  • Archaic
9.9

A reddish-brown grouse that lives on the moors of Great Britain

mound-bird
  • Australian
9.9

A bird with large feet that builds piles of dead plants to keep its eggs warm

mound bird
  • Australian
9.9

A large bird with big feet that builds mounds of dead plants to keep its eggs warm

gallinaceous bird
  • Specialized
8.6

A heavy ground bird like a chicken kept for meat or sport

gallows bird
  • Offensive
9.9

A person people think should be hanged, often a repeat criminal

9.5

A large sea bird with long wings that looks clumsy on land

8.1

A small songbird from North America with bright blue male feathers

9.3

A small North American bird with yellow on its lower back

nonpasserine bird
  • Specialized
9.6

A bird that is not a songbird, for example an owl or a duck

How Observant

to bird
6 7.1
to watch
1.0
to notice
1.0

Surface Forms

bird infinitive
birded past
birded past participle
birding present participle
birds third person singular

Etymology

Bird as a verb (to bird, past birded) is a modern use of the noun and means 'to go look for or watch birds' in nature, much like 'to fish' is to go after fish.