Skip to main content
Glite Dictionary
yellow warbler

yellow warbler

5.8
A small bright yellow bird that sings near streams and marshes
  • noun
  • /ˈjɛloʊ ˈwɔːrblər/
  • US
translation icon : reinitas amarilla
  • We listened carefully to the beautiful song of the yellow warbler as it flitted between the trees.

Examples

  • I saw a yellow warbler and an indigo bunting at the Point.

    Fiction book (1998)

  • A yellow warbler appeared to my right and flew behind me.

    Fiction book (1998)

  • Yellow Warbler preferences drove the pattern for black willow because no other common local breeder used black willow.

    Academic text (2016)

  • I heard a yellow warbler, a house wren, a red-eyed vireo; stray notes of goldfinch.

    Fiction book (1991)

  • Yellow warbler, a species that produces helpless young, is primed to respond when a cowbird egg laid in its nest hatches a big, begging chick.

    Academic text (2009)

  • While hiking in the park, I saw a yellow warbler singing from a branch.

  • At dawn, the yellow warbler filled the air with its cheerful melody near the pond.

Synonyms

Dendroica petechia
vsyellow warbler
  • Archaic
9.9

A small yellow bird from the Americas with a thin musical song

is the common everyday name used for the same bird

Surface Forms

yellow warbler singular
yellow warblers plural

Morphology

yellow + warbler

The meaning is directly derived from combining the adjective 'yellow' (a color) with the noun 'warbler' (a small songbird), so the phrase denotes a warbler that is yellow. This straightforward adjective+noun composition is cross-linguistically common and follows regular English semantics, so a B1 learner who knows both words would understand it.

Etymology

Yellow warbler is named for how it looks and sounds: it has bright yellow feathers and is a warbler, a small bird that sings. So the name literally means 'a small bright yellow songbird', which is why we use it today.