precocial
adjective
Did you know?
Precocial and its partner altricial are really for the birds. Well, at least they are often used to describe the young of our feathered friends. The chicks of precocial birds can see as soon as they hatch and generally have strong legs and a body covered with fine down. Those are attributes you would expect in birds described by the word precocial, which traces to the Latin precox, a term that means "precocious" or "early ripening" (yes, that root also gave us the word precocious). Ducks, geese, ostriches, pheasants, and quail are among the birds that hatch precocial offspring. Altricial chicks, on the other hand, are basically featherless and helpless at birth and require days or weeks of parental care before becoming independent.
Examples of precocial in a Sentence
Razib Khan, Discover Magazine, 10 Sep. 2010
Ducks are what scientists call precocial birds — capable of feeding, swimming and walking soon after hatching.
—New York Times, 22 June 2022
Godwits and most other ground nesters, on the other hand, are precocial birds.
—Jim Robbins, Smithsonian Magazine, 4 Jan. 2022
Game birds, precocial, have larger clutches because the young, feathered and out of the nest upon hatching, are more subject to predation.
—Jim Williams, Star Tribune, 29 June 2021
The opposite are precocial birds, birds that hatch with feathers and are mobile and ready to go shortly after emerging from the egg.
—Anna Thomas Bates, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 28 June 2017
Cite this Entry
“Precocial.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/precocial. Accessed 6 May. 2025.
Copy Citation
Share