chuck-will's-widow
[email protected] 16 Nov 2007 10:58:58 -0000
| Newsgroups | gmane.culture.language.word-of-the-day |
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The Word of the Day for November 16 is:=20
chuck-will's-widow \chuck-willz-WID-oh\ noun
: a nightjar (_Caprimulgus carolinensis_) of the southeastern =
United States
=20
Example sentence:
It was a cool, still night, and we could hear a chuck-will's-w=
idow calling from over the hill.
Did you know?
The chuck-will's-widow is a nocturnal bird that can be found in the=
swamps, rocky uplands, and pine forests of southeastern United States a=
nd is often confused with its close relative, the whippoorwill. Like man=
y of our other feathered friends, the chuck-will's-widow got its name th=
rough onomatopoeia: =E2=80=9Cchuck-will=E2=80=99s-widow=E2=80=9D imitate=
s the sounds of the bird's call. Given that the bird will sometimes repe=
at its call up to 800 times without stopping, the imitative origin of it=
s name is hardly surprising.
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