cliff swallow
1
6.9
- noun
- /klɪf ˈswɑloʊ/
- US
:
golondrina de acantilado
- During migration, cliff swallows can often be seen flying in large groups over open fields.
Examples
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Speakers hidden amidst the colorful gardens play cliff swallow courtship calls for up to six hours a day during mating season in a last-ditch effort to woo the flocks back.
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Now people are seeing mockingbirds and house finches around there, but if they're landing in the trees and perching in obvious places, they won't be cliff swallows," Brown said. "If there's nothing
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Southern California has seen a steep decline in its cliff swallow population because of changes in the landscape, he said.
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"Now, it's not very suitable for cliff swallows anymore, and there are consequences when the landscape changes so much."
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Cliff swallows prefer flat, open spaces, but urban sprawl has meant more trees planted by the region.
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The removal of the nests likely precipitated a regional population decline that was already underway, said Charles Brown, the cliff swallow expert consulting with the mission.
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The experiment, which began several weeks ago, is the brainchild of an Oklahoma ornithologist who has studied cliff swallows for nearly 30 years and has been consulting with the mission on how to win over the small, gregarious birds that have been intertwined with its history for at least a century.
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The story of the cliff swallows draws crowds each year for the annual month-long fiesta that marks their return and the Swallows Day Parade, with vibrant mariachi music, dancing, and the ringing of the mission bells.
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The cliff swallow builds its distinctive mud nests on the sides of cliffs during the summer months.
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Researchers have noted the decline of the cliff swallow population due to habitat loss in urban areas.
Synonyms
A North American swallow that nests in groups and builds bottle-shaped mud nests on cliffs and bridges
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning 'a swallow associated with cliffs' is directly and transparently derived from combining 'cliff' (a steep rock face) with 'swallow' (a small migratory bird); it names a type of swallow by its typical habitat. This noun–noun compounding pattern is a common, compositional way to form animal names cross-linguistically, so a B1 learner who knows both words would readily infer the meaning.
Etymology
Cliff swallow The compound name cliff swallow comes from the bird's habit of building bottle-shaped mud 'nests' on cliffs and walls. The words cliff and swallow show where it lives and what it is, so the name points to a swallow that nests on cliffs.