perching bird
1
5.7
- noun
- /ˈpɜrʧɪŋ bɜrd/
- Specialized
- Of the factors potentially explaining this pattern, the relative abundance of passerine or perching birds to nonpasserine birds was the most important explanatory variable.
- passerine birds
Examples
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I estimate that twenty-four out of forty-two families of passerine (perching) birds include species dependent on silk for nest building.
Academic text (1994) -
They're both perching birds, of course.
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During migratory stopovers, some perching birds gain weight at the rate of 10 percent of their body weight per day.
Academic text (1993) -
A scarecrow covered with flocks of ignorant, careless, selfish, lazy, perching birds.
Blog text (20) -
The bowerbirds are a monophyletic family of passerines (perching birds) consisting of eighteen species in eight genera whose distribution is limited to New Guinea and Australia.
Academic text (2004) -
Many colorful perching birds can be seen resting on tree branches in the forest.
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The park is home to various perching birds, known for their ability to grasp branches with their feet.
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We watched the perching birds as they hopped from branch to branch in search of food.
Synonyms
∞
1.0
A warm-blooded animal with feathers, wings, and a beak that usually flies
1
9.8
A small bird like a sparrow or finch that sits on branches
1
9.5
A bird that sits on branches using its feet to hold on, like a robin
A small or medium bird like a robin that sits on branches and often sings
An old name used by scientists for birds with feet for perching, like songbirds
How Aerial
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning is compositionally built from 'perch' (to sit/rest on a high place) + 'bird' and straightforwardly denotes a bird that perches or has feet adapted for perching. This participial modifier pattern is common and cross-linguistically transparent, so an average B1 learner who knows the constituent words will understand the MWE.
Etymology
Perching bird comes from the simple picture of a bird that perches: it sits on a branch and uses special feet that grip the branch. So the name means a bird made 'to perch', which explains why we call these birds 'perching birds'.