ornithophilic

English

Etymology

From ornitho- +‎ -philic.

Adjective

ornithophilic (comparative more ornithophilic, superlative most ornithophilic)

1. Fond of birds.

   Synonyms: aviphilic, bird-loving

   • 2010, Mark Bonta, “Ethno-ornithology and Biological Conservation”, in Sonia Tidemann, Andrew Gosler, editors, Ethno-ornithology: Birds, Indigenous Peoples, Culture and Society, London: Earthscan, →ISBN, pages 21–22:

     In countries such as the US, bird-feeding, birdwatching, and other types of ornithophilic behaviour form the basis of huge conservation efforts, in tandem with science.

2. (entomology) That feeds on birds.

   Synonym: aviphilic

   • 2007, Hugh Pennington, ‘The Problem with Biodiversity’, London Review of Books, volume 29, number 9:

     When the birds leave their breeding sites in the autumn the mosquito turns to humans. The London Underground molestus are not ornithophilic. We have nothing to fear from them.

   • 2009, Encyclopedia of Microbioology, page 316:

     Unlike the alphaviruses that produce arthritis, human cases occur in an epizootic from an enzootic cycle involving passerine birds and ornithophilic mosquitoes.