Vocabulary List, 9th-12th Grade

 

Grades 9-12:

Raptor:  bird that uses its feet to hold onto prey

Clutch:  group of eggs laid at one time by one bird

Hatch:  to break out of the egg shell

Fledge:  to fly away from the nest

Camouflage:  being of a color that allows for blending in with the surrounding environment

Talon:  claws at the end of the feet; used by raptors to hold prey

Beak:  hook-shaped jaws of birds; used by raptors to tear meat

Nocturnal:  hunts at night; active at night

Diurnal:  hunts during the day; active in day-time

Predator:  hunter; hunts other animals for food

Prey:  the animal that is hunted

Adaptation:  structures on the body that allow for survival in a particular environment (this includes adaptations for hunting)

Energy:  the fuel to keep the body running; obtained through food

Carnivore:  animal that eats other animals

Herbivore:  animal that eats plants

Omnivore:  animal that eats both plants and animals

Hatchling:  bird that has just hatched

Fledgling:  bird that has just fledged

Juvenile:  bird that is not of breeding age; same as “sub-adult”

Carrion:  a dead animal; eaten by vultures, condors and other birds of prey

Scavenger:  an organism that feeds habitually on carrion

Endangered:  a species in danger of becoming extinct throughout all o r a significant portion of its range

Threatened:  a species present in its range by in danger because of a decline in numbers

Extinct:  entirely removed from existence

Conservation:  preservation from loss, waste, or harm

Tomial Tooth:  the small, tooth-like projection on the beak of most falcons; used to snap spinal cord of prey

DDT:  “dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane” – an insecticide banned in the US in 1972; resulted in the population decline of many non-target species

Pesticide:  a chemical designed to kill insects or other “pests”

Scrape:  a depression in soil, sand, or gravel made by Peregrine Falcons to lay their eggs

Habitat:  arrangement of food, water, shelter and space suitable to animals’ needs

Ecosystem:  an ecological community together with its physical environment, considered as a unit

Tropics:  the geographic regions on either side of the equator (approximately10 degrees north and 10 degrees south of the equator); home to the majority of rainforests on the planet

Migration:  seasonal movement from one region to another

Captive Breeding:  program in which wild birds are captured and aided in reproducing (having babies)

Propagate:  to breed and produce offspring

Artificial Insemination:  a procedure in which a female’s eggs are fertilized with the aid of  human intervention, rather than through natural copulation

Incubation:  the warming of eggs to promote the development of the embryo; usually accomplished by the female bird sitting on the clutch

Hacking:  release technique for raptors; putting chicks in a controlled environment without adults until they can survive independently

Mortality:  death; death rate

Extirpated:  missing from native range but not extinct

Ecology:  the study of the relation of organisms or groups of organisms to their environment

Crepuscular:  active at dawn and dusk

Morphology:  the physical features of an organism, including color, bone structure, size, etc.

Sexual Dimorphism:  the morphological (or, physical) difference between the male and female of the same species.

Form and Function:  the idea that every physical characteristic of an organism serves a specific function in the organisms survival