passerine

adjective

pas·​ser·​ine ˈpa-sə-ˌrīn 

: of or relating to the largest order (Passeriformes) of birds which includes over half of all living birds and consists chiefly of altricial songbirds of perching habits compare oscine

passerine noun

Examples of passerine in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

All of these things still happen and are important for understanding evolution, but snakes (and similarly diverse animal groups like rodents and passerine birds) suggest that maybe big, sudden jumps are part of how the tree of life has grown too. —Popular Science, 22 Feb. 2024

At that time, very little was known about this passerine bird endemic to São Miguel Island in the Azores, an autonomous region of Portugal in the Atlantic. —Anne Pinto-Rodrigues, Smithsonian Magazine, 14 Sep. 2023

This poem ached to swoon at the skill and ardor laid at her passerine feet. —Laura Reece Hogan, Scientific American, 1 June 2023

Word History

Etymology

Latin passerinus of sparrows, from passer sparrow

First Known Use

1776, in the meaning defined above