WILDLIFE WORDS

Adaptation – A physical characteristic or behavior that a plant or animal develops in response to its habitat.
Aerie – A Nest.
Altricial – Born in a relatively underdeveloped state as is the case of peregrine falcon chicks.
Beak – Bill of a bird.
Bioaccumulation – When levels of substances build up and become concentrated as they work their way up the food chain.
Biology – The science of living beings and life processes.
Bird – Warm-blooded, egg laying vertebrate with wings and feathers.
Cere – The soft, fleshy part of a raptors beak where the nostrils are located.
Competition – The contest between species in an environment for available resources (food, shelter, etc.)
Conservation – The wise use of natural resources.
Contaminant – Any physical, chemical, biological, or radiological substance causing an impurity in the environment. 
DDT – One of several chlorinated hydrocarbon pesticides used to kill organisms considered pests by people; Long lasting in the environment.
Double-clutching – The process of taking a clutch of eggs early in the incubation period such that the birds renest and produce a second clutch. This allows a clutch of eggs to be used for reintroducation elsewhere.
Ecology – The science concerned with the interaction of organisms and their environment.
Ecosystem – An ecological community together with its environment, functioning as a unit.
Endangered species – Species in danger of extinction throughout all or a significant part of its range.
Environment – The combination of external physical, chemical, and biotic factors affecting the growth and development of an organism or ecologic community.
Eyases – Young hawks.
Falcon – Small hawk with long tapered wings especially adapted for fast flight and hunting.
Food chain (food web) – A chain of organisms along which energy, in the form of food passes. An organism feeds on the preceding link and is in turn prey for the succeeding link.
Fostering – The process of providing chicks for infertile wild peregrines to raise.
Habitat – The environment in which an organism lives; its home. Food, water, shelter or cover, and space necessary for an animal to survive.
Hack boxes – Cages used in hacking.
Hacking – Chicks which are hatched in captivity are raised and released from cages where food is provided with little human contact until the birds can be released into the wild.
Hatchling – A baby bird that has emerged from an egg.
Incubation – Caring for eggs under conditions favorable for development.
Migration – A seasonal move from one place to another place (sometimes from one climate to another climate).
Nesting – Preparing of a nest for laying of eggs.
Ornithologist – A scientist who studies birds.
Pesticide - A chemical substance (e.g. an insecticide or fungicide) that kills harmful organisms and is used to control pests, such as insects, weeds or microorganisms.
Predator – An animal which hunts and eats other animals.
Prey – An animal that is killed and eaten by another animal.
Raptor – A bird that hunts and eats meat; also known as bird of prey. Raptors use their talons to catch their food and their strong, curved beaks for tearing food into bite-sized pieces. Falcons, hawks, eagles, and owls are raptors.
Restoration - The repair of ecological damage to an ecosystem so that it is close to the natural condition prior to a disturbance and it can function as a normal self-regulating system. This is done through processes such as chemical cleanups, revegetation, and the reintroduction of native species.
Reverse sexual dimorphism – When females are larger and heavier than males as is the case with most raptors.
Scrape – The type of nest made by many birds including peregrine falcons; a shallow depression in soil, sand, or gravel.
Stoop – A headfirst, bullet-like dive through the air, usually performed by raptors in pursuit of prey. Peregrine falcons can reach speeds of over 200 miles while in a stoop.
Talons – The sharp, hooked claws of a bird of prey.
Taxonomy – The science of classifying organisms.
Tiercel – The male peregrine falcon, thus named because it is about one-third the size of a female.
Trophic level – Different levels or steps in the food chain.
Vertebrate – An animal with a back bone.
Wings – Movable appendages used for flying.