Word.ws English Dictionary

birds of passage

birds of passage is the plural of bird of passage.

Meaning of bird of passage

Noun

bird of passage (plural birds of passage)

  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.1789, [Erasmus Darwin], “Canto I”, in The Botanic Garden; a Poem, in Two Parts. […], London: J[oseph] Johnson, […], published 1791, →OCLC, part II (The Loves of the Plants; 3rd edition), footnote...
    Synonyms:
    migrant
  2. (figuratively) Someone passing through a place and only staying for a short time; an itinerant.
    • 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.1771, [Tobias Smollett], “To Sir Watkin Phillips, Bart. of Jesus College, Oxon.”, in The Expedition of Humphry Clinker […], volume I, London: […] W. Johnston, […]; and B. Collins, […], →OCLC, page 150

Questions about birds of passage

What is birds of passage the plural of?
Birds of passage is the plural of bird of passage.

Words near birds of passage in the dictionary

  1. birds of a feather flock together
  2. birds of ill omen
  3. birds of Jove
  4. birds of Juno
  5. birds of paradise
  6. birds of passage
  7. birds of prey
  8. birds of the feather flock together
  9. birds of wonder
  10. birds off
  11. birds' mouths

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: birds of passage (page history and authors); bird of passage (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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