Bird Behavior Vocabulary

noun a verb phrase consisting of the verb 'brood' and the preposition 'over'

verb to think deeply and at length about something that makes one unhappy or worried

preposition a word that shows the relationship between a noun (or pronoun) and other words in a sentence

• She tends to brood over every decision before making a choice.
• Don't brood over it too much, just go with your gut feeling.
• Stop brooding over it, you're just stressing yourself out.
• The dark clouds seemed to brood over the city, casting a shadow over everything.

noun a group of birds or animals that are gathered together

verb to come together in a group or crowd

• Birds of a feather flock together, meaning people with similar interests often spend time together.
• I've noticed that the cool kids always seem to flock together at school.
• Those two are always hanging out together, they really flock together.
• In times of crisis, people tend to flock together for support and comfort.

verb to groom oneself carefully or pridefully; to clean or tidy oneself

• The peacock preened its feathers before the mating ritual.
• She preened in front of the mirror before the party.
• He preened his hair before heading out to meet his friends.
• The politician preened his image in front of the cameras.

noun the act of walking through water or another liquid or soft substance

verb walk with effort through water or another liquid or soft substance

• The biologist observed a heron wading through the shallow water in search of fish.
• We spent the afternoon wading in the river, trying to catch some minnows.
• I saw a bunch of kids wading in the creek, splashing around and having fun.
• She felt like she was wading through a sea of paperwork at work, struggling to stay afloat.