sedge bird

9.9

A small songbird that lives in reeds and flies to Africa in winter

noun

: ruiseñor de los juncos

The melodious song of the sedge bird is a sure sign of spring in the marshes.

Examples

We spotted a sedge bird flitting through the reeds by the lake.
During migration, the sedge bird travels thousands of miles to reach its wintering grounds in Africa.
Look at that sedge bird perched on the branch!
I spotted a sedge bird near the river.
The melodious song of the sedge bird is a sure sign of spring in the marshes.
During migration, the sedge bird travels thousands of miles to reach its wintering grounds in Africa.
We spotted a sedge bird flitting through the reeds by the lake.

Synonyms

Acrocephalus schoenobaenus

vssedge bird

Specialized

9.9

A small European songbird that breeds in reeds and moves to Africa for the winter

is the common everyday name rather than the formal species term

sedge warbler

vssedge bird

9.4

A small brown songbird that breeds in reeds and winters in Africa

refers to the species with a slightly different common phrasing

reedbird

vssedge bird

9.9

A small European songbird that nests in reeds and winters in Africa

expresses the same idea but in a different everyday phrase

Surface Forms

sedge bird singular

sedge birds plural

Morphology

sedge + bird

The compound is fully compositional: 'sedge' (a grasslike plant) + 'bird' clearly denotes a bird associated with sedges, so a learner who knows both words can infer it refers to a bird living among sedge vegetation. This follows a common noun+noun compounding pattern found in many languages, making the specific sense (a small warbler of sedge habitats) transparent.

Etymology

Sedge bird is named for the plant sedge and the word bird because these small birds live and hide among the tall, grassy sedges in marshes. That's why sedge bird means a little songbird that breeds in 'sedge' marshes and flies to Africa for the winter.