house finch
1
6.8
- noun
- /ˈhaʊs fɪnʧ/
- US
:
pinzón doméstico
- As they spread across the continent, house finches faced an array of diverse new climates and habitats.
- house finch population
Examples
-
Native to the United States and Mexico, house finches are now equally at home year-round in the North and East.
Academic text (2002) -
After getting a foothold in the vicinity of New York City, the eastern population of house finches began to grow at an exponential rate.
Academic text (2002) -
On my fire escape, I feed house finches.
Fiction book (1996) -
House finches were originally found only in western North America.
Academic text (2002) -
Throughout the nineteenth and into the early twentieth century, house finches were popular cage birds in the United States (as they still are in parts of Mexico).
Academic text (2002) -
A male house finch (left) makes an overture to a prospective mate, who will appraise several suitors before she accepts an offer.
Academic text (2002) -
On my fire escape, I feed house finches every morning.
-
We get plenty of house finches visiting our backyard.
-
Native to the United States and Mexico, house finches are well adapted to urban environments.
Synonyms
A small North American bird with red on its head and chest like a house finch
Surface Forms
Morphology
The compound 'house finch' is compositionally built from 'house' (human dwelling) + 'finch' (a small songbird), so a learner who knows both words can infer it refers to a finch associated with houses or human habitation. Such habitat-based compounds are cross-linguistically common and thus immediately comprehensible to a B1 learner, even if specific species details (plumage, range) are not derivable.
Etymology
House finch was named because this little finch often builds nests on porches and fences near houses. So the name means a 'small bird that lives near houses'.