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alternate plumage

American

noun

Ornithology.

(of birds having more than one plumage in their cycle of molts) the plumage of the second molt, usually brighter than the basic plumage.

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

“They talk about ‘I think this is a worn alternate plumage of a second year whatever Iceland Gull which really looks a whole lot like a Herring Gull’.

From The Guardian • Nov. 14, 2018

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023