the shadow of a bird on asphalt

[alpacinou]

Hello everyone,

I was walking in the afternoon. A bird was flying above and I could see its shadow moving on the asphalt of the street. Is there a verb to describe the movement of shadow?

I thought it would be strange to say "The bird's shadow was flying on the asphalt".

How would you describe something like that?

 

[EditorBob]

Your reader will understand how shadows work, so you can get creative about how it moved. Moving would be perfectly fine, but you could get a little more descriptive with flitting, scurrying, dancing, or a number of other words. I would avoid flying​, however, since it stays on the ground.

 

[Tarheel]

Well, you saw the shadow move. The moving shadow told you which direction the bird was moving.

 

[Tdol]

Your reader will understand how shadows work, so you can get creative about how it moved. Moving would be perfectly fine, but you could get a little more descriptive with flitting, scurrying, dancing, or a number of other words. I would avoid flying​, however, since it stays on the ground.

Flitted over works well for me.

 

[alpacinou]

Your reader will understand how shadows work, so you can get creative about how it moved. Moving would be perfectly fine, but you could get a little more descriptive with flitting, scurrying, dancing, or a number of other words. I would avoid flying​, however, since it stays on the ground.

What great verbs!

The bird's shadow flitted on the hot asphalt.

 

[GoesStation]

What great verbs!

The bird's shadow flitted [STRIKE]on[/STRIKE] over the hot asphalt.

"Flitting" isn't done to a surface, so on doesn't work. Images may flit about or flit around. Other prepositions may be possible, but they all have to do with moving in space, not on a surface.