nuptial plumage

American  

noun

Ornithology.

1. the plumage assumed by a male bird during the courtship period, especially in those species that are more colorful at this period.

---

Etymology

Origin of nuptial plumage

First recorded in 1830–40

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

nuptial plumage

After this the nuptial plumage developed again, and on November 12 the bird was in full nuptial plumage, with good curl feathers in the tail.

From Hormones and Heredity by Cunningham, J. T.

The reappearance of the nuptial plumage takes place in the month of September, and while this process takes place there is no sign of change or renewed activity in the testes.

From Hormones and Heredity by Cunningham, J. T.

The observations of Seligmann and Shattock on the relation of spermatogenesis to the development of nuptial plumage in drakes probably receive their explanation from the above facts.

From Hormones and Heredity by Cunningham, J. T.

After a year, and at the beginning of the normal breeding season, "individual tanagers and bobolinks were gradually brought under normal conditions and activities," and in every case moulted from nuptial plumage to nuptial plumage.

From Darwin and Modern Science by Seward, A. C. (Albert Charles)

The wild duck pairs in autumn or early winter, after the assumption of the nuptial plumage, but copulation does not occur till spring is advanced.

From Hormones and Heredity by Cunningham, J. T.