Beast Mode: An Ark of Animal Words: Birds, Birds, Birds, List 1

We're honoring our feathered friends. So be bald and dive into this list of trilling vocabulary all about birds.

Here are links to our lists in the collection: List 1, List 2
26 words 1445 learners

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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. albatross
    a large web-footed bird noted for powerful gliding flight
    Since leaving Elephant Island, the six men had been accompanied by an albatross, who soared and dipped through the air. Shipwreck at the Bottom of the World
  2. bald eagle
    a large North American bird with a white head and dark wings and body
    A bald eagle riding up the mountain on a rising thermal saw Blue Bill move and circled to strike. Frightful's Mountain
  3. canary
    any of several small Old World finches
    Miss Tynmore, the tiny, bright chirping old maid who gave Mama music lessons, was just like the canary whose cage hung in her kitchen. A Tree Grows in Brooklyn
  4. chicken
    a domestic bird bred for meat or eggs
    Someday, maybe I can cook him some eggs from my own chicken. Unusual Chickens for the Exceptional Poultry Farmer
  5. crane
    a long-necked wading bird
    The bird lady was aptly nicknamed; she resembled a crane, with her long, skinny legs and pointy beak nose. The Vanderbeekers of 141st Street
  6. dove
    any of numerous small pigeons
    The doves came to drink in the still pools of the river and their cry was mournful in the darkness of my dream. Bless Me, Ultima
  7. egret
    a white waterbird with long legs
    Around me were seabirds, egrets, and herons, as well as species of murky fish, many of them probably unknown to science, the only evidence of them the occasional spiny fin rising from the surface. Endangered
  8. falcon
    a diurnal bird of prey
    She is only Dr. Martin: bird expert, veterinarian, rescuer of falcons and eaglets. A Bird Will Soar
  9. goose
    a large long-necked water bird with short feet
    The goose beat his great wings, raising a flurry of snow as he landed. The Golden Compass
  10. grouse
    popular game bird having a plump body and feathered legs
    The bitter upland plains, the purple wastes of sage, the wild, swift antelope, and the grouse are then a natural system in perfect balance. Silent Spring
  11. hawk
    a bird of prey with rounded wings and a long tail
    The boy suspected that they were the same hawks he had seen on the day before, but he said nothing. The Alchemist
  12. hoopoe
    a distinctive bird with a crown of feathers and curved bill
    The site is part of a national park, populated by picnickers and jackals and mongoose, with guest appearances by the pink, black and white-crested hoopoe, Israel’s national bird.
    – The New York Times
  13. kestrel
    a small North American falcon
    At the same moment the kestrel, all beak and talons, hit the loose earth immediately outside like a missile thrown from the tree above. Watership Down: A Novel
  14. kiwi
    a flightless bird native to New Zealand
    And such a funny thing for a bird to do, the kiwis go about with their noses to the ground like a dog smelling after a rat. Hawksworth, Hallam
  15. magpie
    long-tailed black-and-white crow that utters a raucous call
    She noticed the same two magpies singing to each other from across the same meadow every evening. The Wild Robot
  16. ostrich
    fast-running African flightless bird with two-toed feet
    “He rides an ostrich instead of a horse. That has got to make him a misfit.” Fish in a Tree
  17. parrot
    a brightly colored tropical bird with a hooked beak
    “You see what you’ve done?” says the parrot from the captain’s shoulder. Challenger Deep
  18. penguin
    a flightless seabird often found in cold regions
    “A penguin’s black and white. It lives on the ice and it waddles!” The Tipping Point
  19. pigeon
    a large, usually gray and white bird commonly seen in cities
    Silver pigeons lighted briefly on the heads of the lions or the rims of fountains, and strutted along the walks. Go Tell It on the Mountain
  20. quail
    a small game bird
    We traverse fields and forests, walk through barren lands where quails and woodcocks fly up at our feet, and, after twelve miles of bushwhacking, enter the Plattekill State Forest. On the Far Side of the Mountain
  21. roadrunner
    a speedy bird that can fly but prefers to be on the ground
    The second time, I saw it run out of the woods, screech to a halt, and start eating, just like that roadrunner in the cartoons. Unusual Chickens for the Exceptional Poultry Farmer
  22. seagull
    a mostly white aquatic bird found along beaches
    The sun was shining, the breeze was steady, and seagulls shrieked in the air above us. Life of Pi
  23. stork
    a large white waterbird with long legs and a long bill
    I looked at the trees and thought of the big stork’s nest I had seen on top of the barn. Salt to the Sea
  24. swan
    an aquatic bird with a very long neck
    “I have always been fond of swans. No other bird is half so beautiful, this side of the Summer Isles.” A Dance with Dragons
  25. vulture
    a large diurnal bird of prey feeding chiefly on carrion
    Two vultures hovered overhead and then landed on the ground, close enough that I could have grabbed them if I had jumped fast. Purple Hibiscus
  26. wren
    a small active brown bird of the northern hemisphere
    Tiny wrens and sparrows hopped around the yard and fluttered up to the bird feeder on the fencepost. Wish
Created on Tue Oct 10 12:14:22 EDT 2023 (updated Thu Nov 30 12:38:20 EST 2023)

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