pigeon bird

Meanings

1. 1nouncountable

   A gray or brownish bird with a plump body that lives in cities and is often seen walking on pavements and squares.

   Grammar: Countable: say a pigeon bird or two pigeon birds, but the shorter word pigeon is far more common.

   Patterns

   • a pigeon bird in the park
   • feed the pigeon birds

   A pigeon bird landed on our balcony and would not leave.

   The old man throws bread to the pigeon birds every morning.

   Look at that fat pigeon bird sitting on the statue.

2. 2nouncountabletechnical

   Any bird of the family that includes pigeons and doves, kept as pets or bred for racing.

   Grammar: Countable and used mainly when comparing kinds of birds: a pigeon bird versus a dove.

   Patterns

   • a racing pigeon bird
   • keep pigeon birds

   His uncle keeps pigeon birds and races them on weekends.

   The pigeon bird is a close relative of the dove.

   Some pigeon birds can find their way home from hundreds of miles away.

Word forms

Common combinations

a common pigeon bird

The common pigeon bird is found in almost every large city.

feed pigeon birds

Tourists love to feed pigeon birds in the main square.

a wild pigeon bird

A wild pigeon bird built a nest under our roof.

pigeon bird droppings

Pigeon bird droppings had made the stone steps slippery.

Synonyms and how they differ

pigeon

The normal everyday word; use it in almost every situation instead of the longer phrase.

dove

A close relative, usually slimmer and paler, and often used with peaceful or romantic associations.

Word family

pigeon noun

The short everyday name for this bird.

pigeonhole noun

A small square space, originally one for a pigeon to nest in.

Commonly confused: pigeon bird or pidgin?

Practice

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Write a sentence using “pigeon bird”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.

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