Supercilium

Supercilium

The term supercilium is a name for a plumage feature present on the heads of many bird species. It is a stripe which starts above the bird's loral area, continuing "above" the eye, and finishing somewhere towards the rear of the bird's head. It is distinct from the eyestripe which is a line which runs across the lores, and continues behind the eye. Informally, the supercilium is often known as the "eyebrow". Where a stripe is present only above the lores, and does not continue behind the eye, it is called a supraloral stripe or simply supraloral.

On most species which display a supercilium, it is paler than the adjacent feather tracts.

The colour, shape or other features of the supercilium can be useful in bird identification. For example, one way to tell Dusky and Radde's Warblers apart is to look at their supercilium. On Dusky it is sharply demarcated in front of the eye, a bright cream colour here, but becoming duller to the rear, whereas on Radde's, it is loosely-demarcated in front of the eye, buff-orange here and bright to the rear.

A split supercilium is a feature present on some shorebirds (e.g. Broad-billed Sandpiper). This term is used to describe a plumage pattern where the supercilium has an extra stripe branching off it above the lores, and extending up into the crown.

A supercilium drop is a feature found on some pipits; it is a pale spot on the rear of the ear-coverts which, although separated from the supercilium by an eyestripe, can appear at some angles to be a downward continuation of the supercilium.


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Look at other dictionaries:

  • Supercilium — Su per*cil i*um, n. [L.] (Zo[ o]l.) The eyebrow, or the region of the eyebrows. [1913 Webster] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Supercilĭum — (lat.), die Augenbraue. S. acetabŭli, der obere, hervorragende Rand, Pfanne des Hüftgelenkes. Davon Superciliar, zu den Augenbrauen gehörig, an Gestalt dem obern Rande der Augenhöhle ähnlich; so: Superciliares apophyses ossium …   Pierer's Universal-Lexikon

  • supercilium — 1560s, Latin, lit. “eyebrow, ridge, summit; haughtiness” (see SUPERCILIOUS (Cf. supercilious)) …   Etymology dictionary

  • supercilium — Eng. Supercilium Ver ceja …   Diccionario de oftalmología

  • Supercilium — Super|ci̱lium [aus gleichbed. lat. supercilium, Gen.: supercilii] s; s, ...lia; eindeutschend auch: ↑Superzilium: 1) „Augenbraue“, bogenförmiger, mit kurzen Haaren besetzter Hautwulst über jedem Auge zwischen Stirn und Augenlid, der die Augen vor …   Das Wörterbuch medizinischer Fachausdrücke

  • supercilium — /sooh peuhr sil ee euhm/, n., pl. supercilia / sil ee euh/. Archit. 1. the fillet above the cyma of a cornice. 2. (on an Attic base) either of the fillets above and below the scotia. [1555 65; < L: eyebrow, haughtiness, equiv. to super SUPER +… …   Universalium

  • supercilium — noun a) The eyebrow, or the region of the eyebrows b) The arch of hair above each eye …   Wiktionary

  • supercilium — SYN: eyebrow. [L. fr. super, above, + cilium, eyelid] * * * su·per·cil·i·um (soo″pər silґe əm) pl. superciґlia [L.] [TA] eyebrow (def. 1) …   Medical dictionary

  • supercilium — su·per·cil·i·um …   English syllables

  • supercilium — noun the arch of hair above each eye • Syn: ↑eyebrow, ↑brow • Hypernyms: ↑hair • Part Holonyms: ↑face, ↑human face • Part Meronyms: ↑ …   Useful english dictionary

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