OSCINE

[os.cine] adj [NL Oscines, suborder name, fr. L, pl. of oscin-, oscen songbird, bird giving omens by its cry, fr. obs-, ob- in front of, in the way + canere to sing--more at ob-, chant] (1883): of or relating to a large suborder (Oscines) of passerine birds (as larks, shrikes, finches, orioles, and crows) characterized by a vocal apparatus highly specialized for singing -- oscine n