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prothonotary warbler
noun
: a large eastern North American warbler (Protonotaria citrea of the family Parulidae) of wooded swamps that has a golden-yellow head and breast and bluish-gray wings
Examples of prothonotary warbler in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Little yellow prothonotary warblers flitted through the canopy.
—John Jeremiah Sullivan, Travel + Leisure, 24 July 2024
The prothonotary warbler, for example — a bright yellow songbird named for the yellow robes worn by papal clerks in the Roman Catholic church — enjoy big, old forests surrounded by floodwaters, Gentry said.
—Madeline Heim, Journal Sentinel, 22 Apr. 2024
The broader Atchafalaya National Heritage Area surrounding Lafayette is home to five-inch-tall prothonotary warblers, with their bright-yellow feathers, and the five-foot-tall whooping crane, one of the rarest birds in North America.
—Alexandra Marvar, Travel + Leisure, 27 Aug. 2023
Unusual species included a brown pelican, a Mississippi kite, a banded western wood-pewee, a black-throated gray warbler, a prothonotary warbler, and a summer tanager.
—Maria Elena Little Endara, BostonGlobe.com, 1 Oct. 2022
At Marblehead Neck Sanctuary, a prothonotary warbler was discovered.
—BostonGlobe.com, 28 Aug. 2021
Birds including the prothonotary warbler may adjust well to climate change — with an earlier spring season the birds may be able to produce two broods of chicks.
—Morgan Greene, chicagotribune.com, 20 Apr. 2021
While typing the above, a tiny prothonotary warbler landed on a cypress right by the boat.
—Ben Raines, AL.com, 17 Apr. 2018
Scarlet tanagers and prothonotary warblers were plentiful.
—Ben Raines, AL.com, 17 Apr. 2018
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Word History
First Known Use
1783, in the meaning defined above
Time Traveler
The first known use of prothonotary warbler was
in 1783
Dictionary Entries Near prothonotary warbler
Cite this Entry
“Prothonotary warbler.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/prothonotary%20warbler. Accessed 30 Dec. 2024.
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