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Glite Dictionary
longspur

longspur

1 9.0
A small songbird with a long hind claw that lives in open grasslands
  • noun
  • /ˈlɔŋˌspɜr/
: pájaro de cola larga
  • During my birdwatching trip, I was thrilled to see a longspur hopping among the wildflowers.

Examples

  • Her father had taught her some of their names: eiders, dunlins, longspurs, phalaropes, golden plovers.

    Fiction book (2000)

  • One species that failed to show, however, was Lapland Longspur.

    Blog text (14)

  • I had started at parking lot #3 and planned to walk the S Curves south to the Wardens, try to get lucky by finding a Lapland longspur there, and then walk back.

    Blog text (4)

  • New bird species included robins, wrens, plovers, sandpipers, cranes, and Lapland longspurs, as well as some sightings of parakeets.

    Academic text (2007)

  • The tundra landscape on these islands will commonly show species such as Lapland longspurs, Arctic poppies, Louseworts, Rock jasmine, Chickweed, and Lupine.

    Academic text (2004)

  • While walking in the grasslands, I spotted a longspur perched atop a tall blade of grass.

  • The longspur is known for its distinctive song, which can be heard early in the morning.

Surface Forms

longspur singular
longspurs plural

Morphology

longspur = long + spur (transparent) = long + spur

A straightforward descriptive compound: the bird is named for having a long spur (hind claw), which learners can infer from the parts.

Etymology

The word longspur comes from the simple parts long and spur, where spur means 'a sharp point or claw', like the small spike on a rooster or on a boot. So a longspur is a bird named for its long claw on the back toe, which looks like a little spur.