(ornithology) The catching of insects and other invertebrates by plucking them from within foliage, or sometimes from the ground. It may also be applied to where prey is picked off, or from within, natural and man-made surfaces such as rock faces and under the eaves of houses.
“Even after being diagnosed with tennis elbow, she continued working as a gleaner at a garlic farm.”
“It is the last 'scoop' that I have to offer to the gleaner, but it is the biggest of all!”
“A wise man should learn good behaviour, good words and good acts from every side, as a gleaner collects grains of corn from the field abandoned by the reapers.”
gleanings
plural of gleaning (act of harvesting leftover crops)
(plural only) the crops leftover from farmers' fields after they have been commerciallyharvested, or on fields where it is not economically profitable to harvest
