Definition of Bastard wing

1. Noun. Tuft of small stiff feathers on the first digit of a bird's wing.

Exact synonyms: Alula, Spurious Wing
Generic synonyms: Feather, Plumage, Plume
Group relationships: Wing
Derivative terms: Alular

Definition of Bastard wing

1. Noun. A tuft of feathers borne by the bony thumb-like structure in a bird's wing; alula. ¹

¹ Source: wiktionary.com

Lexicographical Neighbors of Bastard Wing

bastard indigo
bastard lignum vitae
bastard operator from hell
bastard operators from hell
bastard pennyroyal
bastard pimpernel
bastard ridley
bastard sugar
bastard sword
bastard swords
bastard title
bastard toadflax
bastard trumpeter
bastard trumpeters
bastard turtle
bastard wing (current term)
bastard wings
bastard yellowwood
bastarda
bastardies
bastarding
bastardisation
bastardisations
bastardise
bastardised
bastardiser
bastardisers
bastardises
bastardising
bastardism

Literary usage of Bastard wing

Below you will find example usage of this term as found in modern and/or classical literature:

1. Catalogue of the Birds in the British Museum by Richard Bowdler Sharpe (1898)
"... without any pinkish tinge anywhere ; the whole of the wing-coverts, as well as the innermost secondaries, pure white ; bastard-wing, primary-coverts, ..."

2. A Labrador Spring by Charles Wendell Townsend (1910)
"A bird comes sailing down from a roof, and, as it approaches the ground, the bastard wing becomes distinctly prominent, the whole wings are then flapped ..."

3. The American Sportsman by Elisha Jarrett Lewis (1906)
"The bastard wing, consisting of three or five feathers, resembling the quills of the ... The bastard wing assists in flight by keeping the wing from turning ..."

4. The Auk: Quarterly Journal of Ornithology by American Ornithologists' Union, Nuttall Ornithological Club (1915)
"I have already discussed these points in other papers.1 It is interesting to speculate that this extension of the bastard wing may point back to the time ..."

5. Zoology: An Elementary Text-book by Arthur Everett Shipley, Ernest William MacBride (1904)
"bastard wing. 6. Primaries. 8. Secondaries. 9, 10. Tertiaries. Fig. ... The name bastard wing is given to a tuft of feathers borne by the thumb (4 Fig. ..."

6. A Hand-book to the Birds of Great Britain by Richard Bowdler Sharpe (1897)
"... their accompanying black lines are very distinct and somewhat zig-zag in character on the latter; bastard-wing, primary-coverts, and quills sepia-brown, ..."

7. The feathered tribes of the British islands by Robert Mudie (1834)
"The bastard wing. That consists of a greater or smaller number of feathers, bearing some resemblance to the quills of the true wing. ..."

Other Resources:

Search for Bastard wing on Dictionary.com!Search for Bastard wing on Thesaurus.com!Search for Bastard wing on Google!Search for Bastard wing on Wikipedia!

Search