plain wanderer
- noun
- Australian
- The plain wanderer is rarely seen because it prefers remote grasslands in Australia.
Examples
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Conservation groups are working to protect habitats crucial to the survival of the plain wanderer.
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I spotted a plain wanderer in the grass.
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Birdwatchers traveled great distances hoping to spot a plain wanderer during migration season.
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The plain wanderer is known for its unique plumage.
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Birdwatchers traveled great distances hoping to spot a plain wanderer during migration season.
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The plain wanderer is rarely seen because it prefers remote grasslands in Australia.
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Conservation groups are working to protect habitats crucial to the survival of the plain wanderer.
Synonyms
A small ground bird from Australian grasslands also called the plains-wanderer
A small ground bird from Australia called the plains wanderer
Surface Forms
Morphology
The noun is compositionally built from 'plain' + 'wanderer', so a B1 learner who knows those words can infer it refers to something that wanders on the plains and, from the example sentence, likely an animal. However, recognizing it as a specific small Australian bird species requires extra world knowledge, so the meaning is only partly predictable from the constituents.
Etymology
Plain wanderer comes from the picture people saw: a small bird moving alone across the open plain. The word wanderer shows how it moves, so the name helps us remember it is a small Australian bird that wanders the grasslands.