family Ardeidae

9.1

A group of long-legged birds that live in shallow water like herons and egrets

noun
/ˈfæmɪli ˈɑrdɪˌeɪ/

Specialized

: familia Ardeidae

The family Ardeidae includes well-known birds such as herons and egrets.

Examples

Researchers observed several members of the family Ardeidae nesting along the riverbanks.
The family Ardeidae includes many species of wading birds.
Many wetlands are important habitats for species within the family Ardeidae.
Many birds in the family Ardeidae are found near water.
Many wetlands are important habitats for species within the family Ardeidae.
Researchers observed several members of the family Ardeidae nesting along the riverbanks.
The family Ardeidae includes well-known birds such as herons and egrets.

Synonyms

Ardeidae

vsfamily Ardeidae

Specialized

9.9

A family of birds like herons and egrets with long legs and necks

includes night-active species and stresses long-legged nature

Surface Forms

family Ardeidae singular

families Ardeidae plural

Morphology

family + Ardeidae

This phrase is directly compositional: 'family' denotes a taxonomic grouping and 'Ardeidae' is the name of a bird family, so the combined meaning 'the Ardeidae family of wading birds' is immediately derivable from the parts. Taxonomic name + rank constructions are cross-linguistically regular and follow transparent naming patterns, making this easily understandable to learners who know both constituents.

Etymology

Family Ardeidae comes from the Latin word Ardea, which means 'heron', plus the family ending -idae. So it literally means 'the heron family', and that helps explain why the group includes herons, egrets, night herons and bitterns.