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Glite Dictionary
🐦 A perching bird 🤸 A person on a perch
percher

percher

9.5
A bird that sits on branches using its feet to hold on, like a robin
  • noun
  • /ˈpɜrʧər/
  • Specialized
translation icon : pájaro posador
  • The robin is a common percher found in gardens and woodlands.

Examples

  • The percher sat quietly.

  • Look at that percher!

  • Some scientists no longer classify certain birds as perchers due to changes in taxonomy.

  • The forest is home to many species of percher that fill the air with birdsong.

  • The bright yellow bird is a common percher that enjoys sitting on branches.

  • Many perchers, like sparrows, are found in urban gardens and parks.

  • During the morning, we watched as several perchers flitted from tree to tree in search of food.

Synonyms

passerine
vspercher
  • Specialized
1 9.8

A small bird like a sparrow or finch that sits on branches

refers instead to past classification rather than current order name
perching bird
vspercher
  • Specialized
5.7

A bird with feet that hold onto branches, like a robin or sparrow

emphasizes former placement in an older scientific grouping
passeriform bird
vspercher
  • Specialized
9.2

A small or medium bird like a robin that sits on branches and often sings

focuses on former classification rather than the formal order term
Insessores
vspercher
  • Archaic
9.9

An old name used by scientists for birds with feet for perching, like songbirds

is now obsolete rather than used in modern taxonomy

Surface Forms

percher singular
perchers plural

Morphology

percher = perch (transparent) = perch + er

Straightforward agentive formation from the verb 'perch' meaning 'to sit/rest on a raised place', so the sense 'a bird adapted for perching' is directly derivable.

Etymology

The word percher comes from perch + -er, where perch meant 'pole' or 'branch'. So a percher is a bird that sits on a perch and has feet for holding branches.