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Bird of passage

//ˌbɜːd əv ˈpæsɪd͡ʒ// noun

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    A migratory bird, especially a passage migrant (“a bird that stops somewhere for a short time during a seasonal migration”).

    "There is a wonderful conformity between the vegetation of ſome plants, and the arrival of certain birds of paſſage. [Carl] Linnaeus obſerves that the wood anemone blows in Sweden on the arrival of the ſwallow; and the marſh mary-gold, Caltha, when the cuckoo ſings."

  2. 2
    any bird that migrates seasonally wordnet
  3. 3
    Someone passing through a place and only staying for a short time; an itinerant. figuratively

    "The muſick and entertainments of Bath are over for this ſeason; and all our gay birds of paſſage have taken their flight to Briſtol-vvell, Tunbridge, Brighthelmſtone, Scarborough, Harrovvgate, &c."

  4. 4
    someone who leads a wandering unsettled life wordnet

Etymology

Probably a calque of Middle French oiseau de passage: oiseau (“bird”), passage (“part of a journey or route, passage”).

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