Glossary words courtesy of NestWatch

 

altricial — young that are born naked and with eyes closed, unable to leave the nest (compare with precocial, below)

aquatic — living or growing in water

 

asynchronous hatching — hatching that does not occur at the same time but that may take place over two to three calendar days

 

birdhouse — another name for a nest box

 

breeding cycle — the time period beginning at nest building through egg laying and raising young to the point of independence

 

brood (n) — the young of a bird that are hatched or cared for at one time

 

brood (v) — to sit on and keep warm (chicks)

 

caching — the storage of berries, seeds, and other food items in the crevices of bark, under leaves, in cavities, and the like. Retrieval of cached food items is not accidental, as in scatterhoarding.

 

carnivorous — subsisting or feeding on animal tissues

 

cavity — a hole or opening in a tree trunk or limb

 

cavity-nesting bird — a bird that nests inside a hole in a tree trunk or limb or in a nest box

 

cloaca — posterior-most chamber of the digestive tract in birds

 

clutch — total number of eggs laid by a female bird in one nest attempt

 

coniferous — consisting of evergreen trees such as pines, firs, and the like

 

contour feather — predominate feather type found on the body, wings, and tail of the bird (as opposed to other feather types: down, bristles, semiplumes, etc.)

 

crepuscular — active at twilight, dawn, and dusk

 

deciduous — has leaves that fall off or shed either seasonally or at a certain stage of development in the life cycle

 

dimorphism — existing in two forms, two color forms, two sexes, and the like

 

dispersal — the movement of a young bird from the site where it hatches to the site where it breeds (juvenile dispersal); the year-to-year movement of an adult bird from one nest site to another (breeding dispersal)

 

diurnal — of, relating to, occurring, or active in the day

 

ectoparasite — a parasite that lives on the exterior of its host

 

egg dumping — occurs when a female lays her egg(s) in the nest of another bird, sometimes creating very large clutches; often seen in ducks

 

fecal sac — a clean, tough mucous membrane containing the excrement of nestling birds

 

fledge — the act of leaving the nest or nest cavity after reaching a certain stage of maturity

 

granivorous — feeding on seeds or grain

 

habitat — the place or environment where an animal (or plant) naturally or normally lives and raises young

 

hatch — to emerge from an egg, pupa, or chrysalis

 

hatching — the moment an organism emerges from an egg, pupa, or chrysalis

 

hibernation — winter dormancy in animals characterized by a great decrease in metabolism

 

incubation — the act of rearing and hatching eggs by the warmth of the body

 

insectivorous — feeding on insects

 

invertebrate — lacking a spinal column

 

larvae — the immature, wingless, and often wormlike stage of a metamorphic insect that hatches from the egg, alters chiefly in size while passing through several molts, and is finally transformed into a pupa or chrysalis from which the adult emerges

 

latitude — south to north measurement of location

 

longitude — east to west measurement of location

 

migration — regular, extensive, seasonal movements of birds between their breeding regions and their wintering regions

 

monogamy — mating of an animal with only one member of the opposite sex at a time

 

nest box — a box, typically made of wood, in which cavity-nesting birds can nest; sometimes called a birdhouse

 

nestling — a young bird that has not left, or abandoned, the nest

 

nocturnal — of, relating to, occurring, or active in the night

 

pair bond — the association between two birds who have come together for reproduction; can be short-term (lasting only through egg-laying or the rearing of young) or lifelong

 

parasite — organism that lives in or on an organism of another species (host) and derives its nutriment therefrom; usually a parasite causes some degree of damage to the host

 

polygamy — mating with several individuals (one male with several females, or one female with several males)

 

precocial — young that are capable of a high degree of independent activity from birth (compare with altricial, above)

 

predation — the act of preying

 

replacement clutch — the eggs laid to replace a clutch in which none of the eggs hatched

 

riparian — along banks of rivers and streams

 

roost (n) — a support on which birds rest; a place where birds customarily rest; also a group of birds resting together

 

roost (v) — to settle down for rest of sleep: perch

 

snag — a standing dead tree

 

species — related organisms or populations having common attributes and potentially capable of interbreeding

 

taxonomy — scientific naming of organisms and their classification with reference to their precise position in the animal or plant kingdom

 

terrestrial — living or growing on land

 

thermoregulate(ion) — the act of maintaining a constant body temperature

 

topographic map — a map depicting the natural and human-made features of a place or region, especially in a way to show their relative positions and elevations