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Recent Examples of precocial
Hares are also born fully furred and with their eyes open, a trait called precocial, whereas rabbits are born hairless, blind, and vulnerable, needing more parental care in the early stages of life.
—
Scott Travers, Forbes.com, 25 May 2025
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
Comparison with avian brain evolution suggests that placental brain size should be constrained due to placentals’ relative precociality, as has been hypothesized for precocial bird hatchlings.
—Razib Khan, Discover Magazine, 10 Sep. 2010
Scott Travers, Forbes.com, 25 May 2025
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
Comparison with avian brain evolution suggests that placental brain size should be constrained due to placentals’ relative precociality, as has been hypothesized for precocial bird hatchlings.
—Razib Khan, Discover Magazine, 10 Sep. 2010
Recent Examples of Synonyms for precocial
Adjective
-
South Korea, dependent on energy imports, is restricting the use of cars by public employees and has reinstated fuel price caps that had been dropped in the 1990s.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
28 Mar. 2026
-
But analysts warn that Iran’s naval threat was never dependent on large ships.—
Efrat Lachter,
FOXNews.com,
28 Mar. 2026
Adjective
-
Big Oil makes money, and so do the parasitic politicians that the industry supports.—
Bill McKibben,
New Yorker,
18 Mar. 2026
-
The claim Influencers say parasitic infestations — especially of the gut — are common and that people should take measures to clear them out periodically.—
Sarah Boden,
NPR,
16 Mar. 2026
Adjective
-
That symbiotic relationship has long led fans to wax poetically about baseball and the end of winter.—
Pete Grathoff,
Kansas City Star,
21 Mar. 2026
-
It’s all intertwined – the legal market has a symbiotic relationship with the black market, and there’s a permeable line between the two.—
Stuart Miller,
Oc Register,
18 Mar. 2026
Adjective
-
Defendants contest only that CASA has not satisfied the first requirement for such associational standing.—
New York Times,
New York Times,
2 Dec. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Precocial.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/precocial. Accessed 4 Apr. 2026.
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