(n.) Any one numerous species of singing birds of the genus Alauda and allied genera (family Alaudidae). They mostly belong to Europe, Asia, and Northern Africa. In America they are represented by the shore larks, or horned by the shore larks, or horned larks, of the genus Otocoris. The true larks have holaspidean tarsi, very long hind claws, and usually, dull, sandy brown colors.
(v. i.) To catch larks; as, to go larking.
Example Sentences:
(1) Owls were more hypnotizable than larks in the morning, and larks were also significantly more hypnotizable in the evening than owls.
(2) The three young men were trying to get to grips with a troubling scene in which they lark about with a baby in its pram, poking it, pulling off its nappy, goading each other until they stone it to death.
(3) Imitating the white, vaudeville television love-to-hate wrestler Gorgeous George, his forecasts bragged the precise round he was going to win, sometimes combining such box-office larks with couplets of doggerel.
(4) Explaining why they continue to increase the size of the UN consolidated appeal each year, despite not acheiving full funding year-on-year, Larke said: “We base our ask on the real needs we assess, not on the money we expect to get - to do so the other way round would be dishonest.
(5) This is Ferguson in his element, larking about with a world-class footballer whose development he has overseen from the star's late teenage years.
(6) Lacking self-confidence and plagued by ill-health, she was hospitalised several times during the 1950s, and took failure hard, blaming herself in particular for the lack of success of Jean Anouilh's The Lark, in which she starred as St Joan in 1955.
(7) I look at my Instagram the week before [the tweets], and I was happy as a lark.
(8) And all three looked as if they were ready to Snapchat their larking pose to all their schoolfriends.
(9) It’s not just readers who nonetheless see North Korea as a bit of a lark.
(10) Someone suggested speaking to a newsagent in Lark Lane, others a supermarket in Lodge Lane that reflects the multi-ethnic nature of Toxteth.
(11) Thinking it was quite a lark we joined in and the ensuing 10-minute interval on the hallowed turf was a carnival atmosphere with much fun had by all, the highlight being the conga lines dancing to the chant of 'Bulstrode is a wanker'.
(12) We see the upturned faces of the soldiers as they look for the larks in one of Rosenberg's most famous poems, "Returning, We Hear the Larks".
(13) Studies of Maaløe, Lark, and others with amino acid- and thymine-starved cultures revealed successive steps in the biosynthesis of Escherichia coli chromosomes.
(14) Among the rareties: ivory gull, sharp-tailed sandpiper, lark sparrow and warblers from every corner of the western hemisphere.
(15) Ah, another opportunity for Hairy Dave to lark about the dancefloor in a comedy fashion.
(16) It’s quite probable that a large number of these “signatures” are some combination of a lark and the same yahoos signing multiple times.
(17) * A soft siffle, high in the air like a distant lark, or the note of a penny whistle, faint and falling.
(18) Then Antiques Roadshow drew 6.92 million (26.4%) in the next hour, while Lark Rise to Candleford had 6.31 million (23%) in the 8pm hour.
(19) I fantasise that maybe one of those people will read the article and think "I'm going to give this gaming lark a try" and that they will buy a console on their way home from work, and that it'll change their life for the better.
(20) Seemingly spontaneous holiday larks abound; we're one puddle of purple vomit away from the dream Brits abroad weekend.
Passerine
Definition:
(a.) Of or pertaining to the Passeres.
(n.) One of the Passeres.
Example Sentences:
(1) Corticotropin-releasing factor (CRF) was localized in the brains of two passerine species, the European starling (Sturnus vulgaris) and the song sparrow (Melospiza melodia), by means of immunohistochemistry.
(2) Adult trumpeters and both young and old passerines housed in the same exhibit were not affected.
(3) The low dose of reserpine in the passerine (common myna and bulbul) birds resulted in 40-84% reduction of both norepinephrine (NE) and epinephrine (E) from the adrenal glands irrespective of its nerve supply.
(4) Concentrations of mercury in passerine birds fed diets containing 40 ppm methylmercury were similar in tissues of birds that died from mercury poisoning and in those that were sacrificed after half the group had died.
(5) Paramyxovirus type 2(PMV-2) (Yucaipa-like), unreported in free-flying passerines in the Americas, was recovered from a finch, wren, and chicken, each from a different location.
(6) Song syntax, defined as orderly temporal arrangements of acoustic units within a bird song, is a conspicuous feature of the songs of many species of passerine birds.
(7) Gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) was detected in the brains of passerine birds, a recently evolved and diverse avian group.
(8) In a group of birds (passerines and non-passerines) body weight was found to be highly correlated with the length of the humerus and with the area of the foramen magnum.
(9) Antibodies to Uukuniemi viruses are found in passerine birds, small mammals, cattle and man.
(10) These values resemble diagnostic levels known for two species of passerine birds, but they exceed published levels for two free-tailed bats from Carlsbad Caverns, New Mexico.
(11) The results agreed with an empirical study on body weight in a passerine bird, the Great Tit, where only the asymptote displayed heritable variation and more genetic variance was expressed under good conditions.
(12) The present study determined the volume of the hippocampal complex and the telencephalon in 3 food-storing families and in 10 non-food-storing families and subfamilies of passerines.
(13) These data suggest that monoaminergic neurotransmitters may be involved in the mediation of steroid-dependent changes in singing behavior in passerine birds.
(14) These data show that, in contrast to some other species of passerine birds, the onset of photorefractoriness does not become fixed before the testes have undergone considerable development, and that the photoperiodic conditions experienced at the end of the testicular growth phase are still effective in determining the precise time of onset of photorefractoriness.
(15) Among the passerine birds, species that store food have an enlarged hippocampal region (dorso-medial cortex), relative to brain and body size, when compared with the non-storers.
(16) The left kidney of Australian passerines was significantly longer, on average, than the right.
(17) Investigation of the effect of variation in background abundance on measures of energy expenditure for small passerines (20 g) revealed that employing estimates, instead of direct measurements, had a minor influence over an experimental period of 1 day but could potentially introduce errors as large as 54% over a 2-day period.
(18) The species consisted of two passerines (songbirds), the European starling (Sturnus vulgaris) and the song sparrow (Melospiza melodia), and one galliform, the Japanese quail (Coturnix coturnix japonica).
(19) Borrelia burgdorferi, the causative agent of Lyme disease, was isolated from the liver of a passerine bird, Catharus fuscescens (veery), and from larval Ixodes dammini (tick) feeding on Pheucticus ludovicianus (rose-breasted grosbeak) and Geothlypis trichas (common yellowthroat).
(20) Free-flying passerine migrants respond to natural fluctuations in the earth's magnetic field.