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Glite Dictionary
Prunella modularis

Prunella modularis

9.9
A small brown bird that sings and lives in European gardens, woodlands and hedges
  • noun
  • Specialized
translation icon : Prunella modularis
  • The scientific name for the dunnock is Prunella modularis.

Examples

  • Researchers observed that Prunella modularis prefers dense hedgerows for nesting sites.

  • Birdwatchers in the UK often spot Prunella modularis in gardens during spring.

  • The scientific name for the dunnock is Prunella modularis.

  • The Prunella modularis is often seen in gardens.

  • Have you ever spotted a Prunella modularis in the wild?

  • Birdwatchers in the UK often spot Prunella modularis in gardens during spring.

  • Researchers observed that Prunella modularis prefers dense hedgerows for nesting sites.

Synonyms

hedge sparrow
vsPrunella modularis
  • UK
5.8

A small brown songbird found in hedges and gardens

is the formal scientific name for that same species
dunnock
vsPrunella modularis
  • UK
9.7

A small brown bird that sings and often lives in gardens and hedges

is the formal scientific name rather than the common name

Surface Forms

Prunella modularis singular
Prunella modularises plural

Morphology

Prunella + modularis

This is a Latin scientific binomial rather than a compositional English phrase: 'Prunella' is a genus name and 'modularis' is not a common English word, so a B1 learner who knows the constituents would not be able to derive the common-name meaning 'dunnock'. Scientific names function as arbitrary labels (and vary across languages by their common names), so the species meaning is not transparently built from the parts.

Etymology

Prunella modularis is the scientific name for the dunnock; Prunella may come from an old word for 'plum' because the bird's brown colour looked like a small plum, and modularis may mean 'measured' or 'in parts', a tidy image for its short, regular song. So the name helps you remember the small brown bird and its repeating song.