bird of passage

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bird of passage

n. pl. birds of passage

1. A migratory bird.

2. A person who moves from place to place frequently.

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

bird of passage

1. (Zoology) a bird that migrates seasonally

2. a transient person or one who roams about

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

bird′ of pas′sage

1. a bird that migrates seasonally.

2. a transient or migratory person.

[1785–95]

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

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Noun	1.	bird of passage - someone who leads a wandering unsettled life roamer, rover, wanderer traveler, traveller - a person who changes location nomad - a member of a people who have no permanent home but move about according to the seasons drifter, vagrant, vagabond, floater - a wanderer who has no established residence or visible means of support
	2.	bird of passage - any bird that migrates seasonally bird - warm-blooded egg-laying vertebrates characterized by feathers and forelimbs modified as wings

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Whereas, I in com- parison, felt myself a mere bird of passage in that port.

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"Why, my Lady has been but poorly, ma'am, since she was last here-- I don't mean with the family, ma'am, but when she was here as a bird of passage like.

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A foreigner does, indeed, sometimes meet with Americans who dissent from these vigorous formularies; with men who deplore the defects of the laws, the mutability and the ignorance of democracy; who even go so far as to observe the evil tendencies which impair the national character, and to point out such remedies as it might be possible to apply; but no one is there to hear these things besides yourself, and you, to whom these secret reflections are confided, are a foreigner and a bird of passage. They are very ready to communicate truths which are useless to you, but they continue to hold a different language in public.