oscines noun pl. ['ɒsɪni:z] In sense 2 Oscines. E17.
[Latin, pl. of oscin-, oscen singing or divining bird, formed as OB- + canere sing.]
1. Hist. The birds (esp. ravens or owls) from whose voices auguries were taken by the Romans. E17.

2. Ornithology. An extensive group of birds (the songbirds) containing those families of advanced passerine birds which have the muscles of the syrinx attached to the extremities of the bronchial semi-rings. L19.

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