migratory

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
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Etymonline

Word Origin & History

migratory

1753, from L. migrat-, pp. stem of migrare (see migration).

American Heritage

Science Dictionary

migratory

(mī'grə-tôr'ē) Pronunciation Key
Traveling from one place to another at regular times of year, often over long distances. Salmon, whales, and swallows are all migratory animals.

Example sentences

All of these birds often rest here on their migratory journey.

Protecting vulnerable wetlands and migratory paths for wildlife.

State and county authorities are often called in to remove these migratory

birds when they cause damage to property or crops.

Physical remains, rather than linguistic patterns and microbes, are the

preferred form of evidence for human migratory maps.

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desert locust hobo itinerant labor camp migrant migration

Matching Quote

"Salmon, shad, and alewives were formerly abundant here, and taken in weirs by the Indians ... until the dam and afterward the canal at Billerica, and the factories at Lowell, put an end to their migrations hitherward; though it is thought that a few more enterprising shad may still occasionally be seen in this part of the river.... Perchance, after a few thousands of years, if the fishes will be patient, and pass their summers elsewhere meanwhile, nature will have leveled the Billerica dam, and the Lowell factories, and the Grass-ground River run clear again, to be explored by new migratory shoals."

-Henry David Thoreau