Phrase guide

bird of passage

noun · 4 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • Received-Pronunciation: /ˌbɜːd əv ˈpæsɪd͡ʒ/
  • General-American: /ˌbɝd əv ˈpæsɪd͡ʒ/
  • US: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.

1

noun

Meaning 1

A migratory bird, especially a passage migrant (“a bird that stops somewhere for a short time during a seasonal migration”).

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Topics: biology, natural-sciences, ornithology

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: migrant

Antonyms: none provided

2

noun

Meaning 2

Someone passing through a place and only staying for a short time; an itinerant.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: figuratively

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: bird of passage, gadabout, itinerant, peregrinator, rambler, rover, traveller, voyager, wanderer, wayfarer

Antonyms: none provided

3

noun

Meaning 3

any bird that migrates seasonally

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: bird

4

noun

Meaning 4

someone who leads a wandering unsettled life

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: wanderer, roamer, rover

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: traveler, traveller

Narrower terms: nomad, vagrant, drifter, floater, vagabond

History

Etymology

Probably a calque of Middle French oiseau de passage: oiseau (“bird”), passage (“part of a journey or route, passage”).

Across languages

Translations

4 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • French: oiseau de passage — migratory bird — see also migratory bird
  • Ingrian: kesälintu — migratory bird — see also migratory bird
  • Northern Kurdish: teyrê koçer — migratory bird — see also migratory bird
  • Spanish: ave pasajera — migratory bird — see also migratory bird