moustachialmustachialadj.
/məˈstɑːʃɪəl/, U.S. /məsˈtæʃiəl/ Chiefly Ornithology.
Resembling a moustache; spec. designating a streak of colour running back from the sides of a bird's beak. Also: designating the vibrissae on the snout of a mammal.
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the world > animals > birds > parts of or bird defined by > [adjective] > having moustache-like markings
moustachiala1873
a1873 E. Blyth Catal. Mammals & Birds Burma 57 The red of the breast [of the parrot] is continued past the black moustachial streak and the ear-coverts.
1894 R. B. Sharpe Hand-bk. Birds Great Brit. I. 72 Cheeks..separated from the throat by a distinct moustachial streak of dusky greenish-olive.
1933 Brit. Birds 27 164 It was not possible to sex the specimen, which appears to be a male of one year with the moustachial stripe not so well defined as in the adult.
1967 J. A. Baker Peregrine iii. 39 His big, brown, spaniel eyes shine wet..embedded in the darker matt brown of the moustachial mask.
1992 Amer. Midland Naturalist 128 175 It is not clear whether infective larvae more often enter through the nasal mucosa unless they are groomed, most likely from the mustachial vibrissae.
1994 New Scientist 19 Mar. 45/2 Keen British bird-watchers know where to find a bird's tertials, and can tell the difference between a malar and moustachial stripe.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, March 2003; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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adj.a1873