pin-tailed

American  

[pin-teyld] / ˈpɪnˌteɪld /

adjective

Ornithology.

1. having a tapered tail with long, pointed central feathers.

2. having the feathers of the tail stiff, narrow, and pointed.

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Etymology

Origin of pin-tailed

First recorded in 1870–75

Example Sentences

Native reptiles and birds, including the Be’er Sheva fringe-fingered lizard, the pin-tailed sandgrouse and the spectacled warbler, are now fall easy prey for crows and jays perched in the tree branches.

From Salon • Nov. 20, 2024

Occasionally eider and pin-tailed duck were shot, as well as a few brent-geese, but these birds appeared remarkably shy and wary, although evidently here to breed.

From Stray Leaves from an Arctic Journal; or, Eighteen Months in the Polar Regions, in Search of Sir John Franklin's Expedition, in the Years 1850-51 by Osborn, Sherard

Several migrating birds were seen in September at 17,000 feet and above, among them Temminck's stint, painted snipe, pin-tailed snipe, house-martin and several pipits.

From Mount Everest the Reconnaissance, 1921 by Howard-Bury, Charles Kenneth

A couple of pin-tailed ducks were shot, the only pair seen; the black kind were more numerous, but were not fired at, as they are fishing ducks, and, therefore, not good to eat.

From Narrative of a Second Expedition to the Shores of the Polar Sea by Franklin, John

Several golden plovers, Canadian grosbeaks, crossbills, woodpeckers and pin-tailed grouse were shot today; and Mr. Back killed a small striped marmot.

From The Journey to the Polar Sea by Franklin, John