hummingbird
/ˈhʌmɪŋˌbɜrd/A tiny bird that hovers at flowers with wings beating too fast to see.
Example: A hummingbird came to the feeder and stayed about two seconds.
B114 words · Intermediate
More Birds vocabulary — B1
A second set of bird vocabulary at this level, adding species like the hummingbird, raven, puffin and gannet that the first set left out.
14 questions
Words in this set
14parakeet
/ˈpɛrəˌkit/A small long-tailed parrot, now loose and screeching across many city parks.
Example:
There are hundreds of green parakeets in that park now.
raven
/ˈreɪvən/The largest black bird of its family, with a wedge tail and a deep croak.
Example:
A raven went over the crag and the sound carried right down the valley.
quail
/kweɪl/A tiny round game bird whose speckled eggs are sold as a delicacy.
Example:
There were quail eggs on the menu and I've still no idea why.
emu
/ˈiˌmju/A tall flightless Australian bird that booms like a struck drum.
Example:
An emu put its head through the car window looking for food.
curlew
A large wading bird with a long curved beak.
Example:
The call of a curlew carries right across the estuary.
lapwing
A black and white field bird with a crest on its head.
Example:
A lapwing tumbles through the air to draw you from the nest.
puffin
/ˈpʌˌfɪn/A small sea bird with a brightly coloured beak.
Example:
Every puffin on that island is counted each June.
gannet
A large white sea bird that dives from a great height.
Example:
A gannet hits the water at ninety kilometres an hour.
coot
/kut/A black water bird with a white patch on its forehead.
Example:
A coot chased everything else off that stretch of water.
grebe
/ɡrib/A diving water bird that carries its young on its back.
Example:
The grebe disappeared for a minute and came up thirty metres away.
snipe
/snaɪp/A marsh bird with a very long straight beak.
Example:
A snipe got up from under our feet and zigzagged away.
bittern
A shy marsh bird whose call sounds like someone blowing over a bottle.
Example:
One bittern was heard all spring and never once seen.
kittiwake
/ˈkɪtɪˌweɪk/A small gull that nests on cliff ledges.
Example:
The whole cliff is kittiwake nests from May onwards.
