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Glite Dictionary
brown thrasher

brown thrasher

7.3
A large brown bird that sings in eastern North America with a long tail and streaked chest
  • noun
  • /braʊn ˈθræʃər/
  • US
translation icon : tordo marrón
  • A brown thrasher was singing loudly from the top of the hedge early this morning.

Examples

  • Many people attract the brown thrasher to their yards by planting dense shrubs.

  • The brown thrasher sang beautifully at dawn.

  • The brown thrasher is easily recognized by its bright yellow eyes and bold streaks on its chest.

  • I spotted a brown thrasher in the garden.

  • The brown thrasher perched on a branch, singing beautifully and showcasing its lovely reddish-brown plumage.

  • As evening approached, we heard a brown thrasher's melodic tunes echoing through the quiet woods.

  • In our garden, a brown thrasher found its spot, entertaining us with its remarkable vocal talents.

Synonyms

brown thrush
vsbrown thrasher
  • US
5.3

A large brown songbird from the eastern United States that sings and copies other birds

is the primary common name rather than an alternate common name
Toxostoma rufum
vsbrown thrasher
  • Specialized
9.9

A large reddish-brown songbird of eastern North America

is the everyday common name instead of scientific labeling

Surface Forms

brown thrasher singular
brown thrashers plural

Morphology

brown + thrasher

The noun is a simple color + animal compound: it refers to a thrasher that is brown, so the overall meaning is directly built from the constituents. Color+animal naming is a common, cross-linguistic compositional pattern that a B1 learner who knows both words would readily understand.

Etymology

Brown thrasher gets its name from what the bird looks like and how it acts: brown describes its reddish-brown feathers, and thrasher comes from the verb 'to thrash' because the bird often beats insects and worms against branches or flips through leaves to find food, so the name fits the bird we see today.