whitethroat

American  

[hwahyt-throht, wahyt-] / ˈʰwaɪtˌθroʊt, ˈwaɪt- /

noun

1. any of several small songbirds having a throat that is white, especially an Old World warbler, Sylvia communis.

2. white-throated sparrow.

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whitethroat British  

/ ˈwaɪtˌθrəʊt /

noun

1. either of two Old World warblers, Sylvia communis or S. curruca ( lesser whitethroat ), having a greyish-brown plumage with a white throat and underparts

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Etymology

Origin of whitethroat

First recorded in 1670–80; white + throat

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

whitethroat

Martins were hawking about, the whitethroat warbled his short snatches of song among the bushes, and blackbirds and starlings flew past.

From Narrative of the Voyage of H.M.S. Rattlesnake, Commanded By the Late Captain Owen Stanley, R.N., F.R.S. Etc. During the Years 1846-1850. Including Discoveries and Surveys in New Guinea, the Louisiade Archipelago, Etc. to Which Is Added the Account of Mr. E.B. Kennedy's Expedition for the Exploration of the Cape York Peninsula. By John Macgillivray, F.R.G.S. Naturalist to the Expedition. — Volume 2 by MacGillivray, John

O! at his bidding the whitethroat swings In thrillant blue.

From The Dales of Arcady by Ratcliffe, Dorothy Una

Peggy, peg′i, n. one of several small warblers, the whitethroat, &c.

From Chambers's Twentieth Century Dictionary (part 3 of 4: N-R) by Various

The green caterpillar swings as he spins his thread and lengthens his cable to the tide of air, descending from the tree; before he can slip it the whitethroat takes him.

From Field and Hedgerow Being the Last Essays of Richard Jefferies by Jefferies, Richard

The note of the whitethroat, which is continually repeated, and often attended with odd gesticulations on the wing, is harsh and displeasing. 

From The Natural History of Selborne, Vol. 1 by Morley, Henry