alternate plumage

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.

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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’.