chuck-will's-widow

[email protected] 16 Nov 2007 10:58:58 -0000
Newsgroups gmane.culture.language.word-of-the-day
Message-ID <[email protected]>
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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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