passerine

pas·ser·ine  (ps-rn)

adj.

Of or relating to birds of the order Passeriformes, which includes perching birds and songbirds such as the jays, blackbirds, finches, warblers, and sparrows.

n.

A bird of the order Passeriformes.

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[Latin passernus, of sparrows, from passer, sparrow.]

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passerine [ˈpæsəˌraɪn -ˌriːn]

adj

(Life Sciences & Allied Applications / Animals) of, relating to, or belonging to the Passeriformes, an order of birds characterized by the perching habit: includes the larks, finches, crows, thrushes, starlings, etc.

n

(Life Sciences & Allied Applications / Animals) any bird belonging to the order Passeriformes

[from Latin passer sparrow]

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passerine  (ps-rn)

Belonging to the avian order Passeriformes, which includes the perching birds. Passerine birds make up more than half of all living birds. They are of small to medium size, have three toes pointing forward and one pointing back, and are often brightly colored. Larks, swallows, jays, crows, wrens, thrushes, cardinals, finches, sparrows, and blackbirds are all passerine birds.

Thesaurus

Noun	1.	passerine - perching birds mostly small and living near the ground with feet having 4 toes arranged to allow for gripping the perch; most are songbirds; hatchlings are helpless passeriform bird bird - warm-blooded egg-laying vertebrates characterized by feathers and forelimbs modified as wings order Passeriformes, Passeriformes - largest order of birds comprising about half the known species; rooks; finches; sparrows; tits; warblers; robins; wrens; swallows; etc.; the four suborders are Eurylaimi and Tyranni and Menurae and Oscines or Passeres oscine, oscine bird - passerine bird having specialized vocal apparatus sparrow, true sparrow - any of several small dull-colored singing birds feeding on seeds or insects lyrebird - Australian bird that resembles a pheasant; the courting male displays long tail feathers in a lyre shape scrub bird, scrub-bird, scrubbird - small fast-running Australian bird resembling a wren and frequenting brush or scrub broadbill - small birds of the Old World tropics having bright plumage and short wide bills tyrannid - a passerine bird of the suborder Tyranni jenny wren, wren - any of several small active brown birds of the northern hemisphere with short upright tails; they feed on insects
Adj.	1.	passerine - relating to or characteristic of the passeriform birds nonpasserine - relating to or characteristic of birds that are not perching birds