Altricial
Altricial, meaning "requiring care", refers to a group or kind of creature that is incapable of moving around on its own soon after hatching or being born. The word is derived from the Latin root alere meaning "to nurse, to rear, or to nourish", which means that young has to be taken care of for a long time before it can overcome its helplessness.[1]
Altricial young birds.
Birds or mammals which need much less care after birth are called precocial, meaning they are precocious.
References
- Ehrlich, Paul (1988). The Birder's Handbook. New York: Simon & Schuster. ISBN 0-671-65989-8.
Other websites
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