red-shafted flicker
- noun
- Specialized
:
pájaro carpintero de alas rojas
- Many birdwatchers travel to the west to see the striking red-shafted flicker in its natural habitat.
Examples
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The bright red wing feathers help identify the red-shafted flicker from other woodpeckers in the area.
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We spotted a red-shafted flicker searching for ants on the lawn this morning.
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Look at that red-shafted flicker flying overhead!
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I spotted a red-shafted flicker in the park.
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Many birdwatchers travel to the west to see the striking red-shafted flicker in its natural habitat.
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The bright red wing feathers help identify the red-shafted flicker from other woodpeckers in the area.
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We spotted a red-shafted flicker searching for ants on the lawn this morning.
Synonyms
1
7.4
A large woodpecker with brown spotted feathers that often feeds on the ground
A woodpecker from the western United States with red feathers under its wings and tail
Surface Forms
Morphology
red-shafted + flicker
The phrase denotes a type of flicker characterized by red shafts on its wings and tail, and its meaning is compositionally built from the color descriptor 'red' plus a modifier applied to 'flicker'. This is a descriptive, non-idiomatic color + noun pattern (like 'red-winged blackbird') that a learner who knows the constituent words would readily interpret, so it is transparent.
Etymology
Red-shafted flicker gets its name from the bird's bright red shafts, the long middle parts of its wing and tail feathers, and from flicker, a name for this kind of woodpecker that often flicks its tail. So the name really points to a woodpecker you can spot by the red flash of its wings and tail.