kleptotrichy

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bbeeton
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kleptotrichy

Postby bbeeton » Tue Aug 03, 2021 10:53 am

A new word, roughly translating in Greek to “hair-stealing”.

This has been proposed in a recent paper in the journal Ecology.

It refers to the practice by some birds of stealing hair or fur from sleeping or unwary animals, presumably to use as nest material.

Here's a report (secondary source) with a nice picture:
https://gizmodo.com/birds-are-brazenly- ... 1847409494

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Slava
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Re: kleptotrichy

Postby Slava » Sat Aug 07, 2021 8:52 am

Interesting. I wonder if the hair the animals are taking is living or dead. If it's dead, they could be acting in symbiosis with the "victim". Helping to keep the host clean of dead hair. Like the birds that feed off the teeth of hippopotamuses.

As a word form, I would have gone for trichoklepsy. The order of the word parts works better for me. It rolls off the tongue more easily, too.
Life is like playing chess with chessmen who each have thoughts and feelings and motives of their own.

bbeeton
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Re: kleptotrichy

Postby bbeeton » Sat Aug 07, 2021 10:38 am

I've always understood that the hair itself is not living. But some follicles may be active, and that could lead to an "ouch".

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Dr. Goodword
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Re: kleptotrichy

Postby Dr. Goodword » Sun Aug 08, 2021 1:57 pm

I can't find it in any dictionary, so I can't confirm it is an English word. Ditto for trichoklepsy.
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