plumage
/ˈpluːmɪdʒ
/noun [mass noun]
A bird’s feathers collectively: the male in full breeding plumage...
- Colourful crests make birds in breeding plumage easy to identify.
- Variety in the lovebird's diet is the key to feather perfect plumage and a healthy bird.
- By spring, the outer tips of the feathers have worn off to reveal the breeding plumage underneath.
Derivatives
plumaged
[usually in combination]: a grey-plumaged bird...
- Brightly plumaged, these jays range just north of the Mexican border, in areas such as Hidalgo County, Texas, home of sizable rattlers.
- The cock is a most beautifully plumaged bird; the hen is coloured silver and brown and is almost as large as the cock.
- We've heard it lots of times, and I've seen female, but not the male, the fully plumaged male, who'll be a very, very dark blue, with white wings.
Origin
Late Middle English: from Old French, from plume 'feather'.