spark bird

plural spark birds

1. A particular bird that piques one's interest in birdwatching.

   The spark bird is a moment of epiphany, a conversion experience. There are “born-again birders,” no joking, and many birders cleave their lives neatly in two: “before the spark” and “after the spark.”

   2019, Ted Floyd, How to Know the Birds: The Art and Adventure of Birding, National Geographic Books, →ISBN, page 29

   1 more example

   As we start walking we spot a red-winged blackbird. It’s a very significant bird in Cooper’s life, he calls it his “spark bird”, a term used to describe the type of bird that first converts a person to birdwatching.

   [2023 June 19, Morgan Jerkins, “‘She doesn’t have the power’: Central Park birdwatcher Christian Cooper on why racist ‘incident’ won’t define him”, in The Guardian, →ISSN