house martin

Thân thiện

A house martin builds its nest under the eaves of a cottage.

Definition

Noun: 1. A small migratory bird: The house martin (Delichon urbicum) is a small passerine bird in the swallow family, Hirundinidae. It is characterized by its blue-black upperparts, white rump, and pure white underparts. 2. A nesting bird associated with human structures: It is known for building its distinctive, enclosed mud nests under the eaves, on the walls, or on the cliffs of houses and other buildings.

Usage Examples

• Noun:
  • A colony of house martins has returned to nest under the roof of the barn.
  • We watched the house martin skillfully catching insects in mid-air.
  • The distinctive white rump makes the house martin easy to identify in flight.

Advanced Usage

• As a subject of study in ornithology: The term is used in scientific and birdwatching contexts to discuss migration patterns, breeding habits, or conservation status.
  • The study tracked the house martin's migration route from Europe to sub-Saharan Africa.

Variants and Related Words

• Martin (n): A general term for various birds of the swallow family, often used in compound names like "sand martin" or "purple martin."
• Swallow (n): A related bird in the same family, typically with longer tail streamers and different nesting habits.

Synonyms

• Delichon urbicum (n): The scientific binomial name.
• Common house-martin (n): A fuller common name.

Related Phrases

• House martin nest (n phrase): Refers specifically to the cup-shaped nest constructed from mud pellets.
  • The children were fascinated by the construction of the house martin nest.

Học thuật

Noun

1. common small European martin that builds nests under the eaves of houses

Từ đồng nghĩa

• delichon urbica