snowcock

See also: snow-cock

English

WOTD – 5 April 2025

Etymology

From snow +‎ cock, from the fact that the bird is native to snowy, mountainous regions.

Pronunciation

  • (Received Pronunciation) IPA(key): /ˈsnəʊkɒk/
  • Audio (Southern England):(file)
  • (General American) IPA(key): /ˈsnoʊˌkɑk/
  • Rhymes: -əʊkɒk
  • Hyphenation: snow‧cock

Noun

snowcock (plural snowcocks or snowcock)

  1. Any of several species of bird in the genus Tetraogallus of the pheasant family Phasianidae, native to mountain regions of Eurasia.
    • 1859, “The Lapland Reindeer and Northern Lights”, in W. Meynell Whittemore, editor, The Church Scholar’s Magazine, London: Wertheim, Macintosh, & Hunt, […], →OCLC, page 339:
      The landscapes were bare and dismal, spotted with patches of stunted birch. There are some Lapp huts, which look like snowcocks in the distance.
    • 1864, T[homas] C[averhill] Jerdon, “Ord[er] Rasores”, in The Birds of India: Being a Natural History of All the Birds Known to Inhabit Continental India; […], volume III, Calcutta, West Bengal: George Wyman and Co., […], →OCLC, page 554:
      Another species of Snow-cock occasionally obtained by Indian sportsmen is Tetraogallus tibetanus, Gould, figured in the Birds of Asia, pt. V., pl. 4; but as it has not, I believe, been procured on this side of the Snowy range, I shall only briefly describe it without giving it a place among the Birds of India.
    • 1880 June 29 (date written), Lieutenant Fairbrother, “The Game Birds of India. (Reprint from the ‘Asian.’) Addenda et Corrigenda. No. 2.”, in Allan [Octavian] Hume, editor, Stray Feathers: A Journal of Ornithology for India and Its Dependencies, volume IX, numbers 1–3, Calcutta, West Bengal: A. Acton, at the Calcutta Central Press, […], published August 1880, →OCLC, page 207:
      A party which ascended the highest peak (Seetaram, 15,000 feet) a week ago, came across a brood of Snow-Cock, and captured all the chicks (nine I think), but later released them.
    • 1927 November, H. D. Minchinton, “With the Shaksgam Survey Party—1926”, in E[dward] L[isle] Strutt, editor, The Alpine Journal: A Record of Mountain Adventure and Scientific Observation, volume XXXIX, number CCXXXV, London; New York, N.Y.: Longmans, Green and Co. […], →ISSN, →OCLC, page 224:
      [D]uring the ten days we spent in that little valley the sole vestiges of life seen were 2 snowcock and 1 fly—the latter was found inside my tent and had probably come over from the base camp in the rolled-up tent.
    • 2000, “The Conservation of Partridges, Quails, Francolins, Snowcocks, Guineafowl, and Turkeys”, in Richard A. Fuller, John P. Carroll, Philip J. K. McGowan, editors, Partridges, Quails, Francolins, Snowcocks, Guineafowl, and Turkeys: Status Survey and Conservation Action Plan 2000–2004, Gland, Vaud, Switzerland; Cambridge, Cambridgeshire: International Union for Conservation of Nature; Reading, Berkshire: World Pheasant Association, →ISBN, page 7:
      On a practical level, there is very little information on which to make judgments on the conservation status of many subspecies and populations of partridges, quails, francolins, snowcocks, guineafowl, and turkeys, […]

Alternative forms

Hyponyms

Translations

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Further reading

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