genus Spizella
- noun
- /ˈdʒiːnəs spɪˈzɛlə/
- Specialized
- The genus Spizella includes the well-known chipping sparrow found across North America.
Examples
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Several species within the genus Spizella are noted for their distinctive melodic songs.
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The genus Spizella includes several species of sparrows.
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Ornithologists often study the genus Spizella to understand the evolution of American sparrows.
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Did you know that the genus Spizella has over three species?
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Ornithologists often study the genus Spizella to understand the evolution of American sparrows.
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Several species within the genus Spizella are noted for their distinctive melodic songs.
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The genus Spizella includes the well-known chipping sparrow found across North America.
Synonyms
A group of small North American sparrows like the chipping sparrow
Surface Forms
Morphology
The phrase is fully compositional: 'genus' denotes a biological rank and 'Spizella' is the proper name of that taxon, so the meaning 'the genus named Spizella' follows directly from the constituents. Taxonomic noun-noun constructions like this are regular and cross-linguistically common, so a learner who knows both words will understand it.
Etymology
Genus Spizella likely comes from old Greek or Latin words: spiza meant a finch and the small ending -ella made it 'little finch'. That's why the name fits a group of small American sparrows today.