ortolan bunting
- noun
- UK
:
ortolán
- The ortolan bunting is known for its beautiful song.
Examples
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Traditionally, the ortolan bunting was consumed whole, often in a secretive ritual.
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Have you ever seen an ortolan bunting in the wild?
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Birdwatchers traveled to southern Europe to catch a glimpse of the rare ortolan bunting.
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The ortolan bunting has been prized for its flavor in French cuisine despite conservation concerns.
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The ortolan bunting is often seen perched on fences in rural areas.
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During a nature walk, we spotted an ortolan bunting singing beautifully from a tree.
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In some regions, ortolan buntings are considered a culinary delicacy.
Synonyms
3
7.7
A small songbird that eats seeds and lives in Europe and North America
1
9.9
A small brown bird often eaten as a special food in France
A small brown bird from Europe and Asia that people sometimes eat as a rare food
Surface Forms
Morphology
The phrase is a straightforward noun–noun compound: 'ortolan' specifies the species and 'bunting' names the type of small songbird, so a learner who knows both constituents will infer it is a particular small bird. This follows a common compositional pattern (specific name + class) and contains no idiomatic or metaphorical shift, making the meaning directly derivable from the parts.
Etymology
Ortolan bunting is a small brown songbird that became famous in France because people would catch and fatten it, then eat it whole in a secret ritual often under a napkin. So today the name brings to mind a rare and controversial 'delicacy'.