pika
1
9.6
- noun
- /ˈpaɪkə/
:
pika
- While on the talus, we saw a pika, or cony, a small mammal related to rabbits.
- pika populations
Examples
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We restricted the tree to those sites where definitive signs of current or historic pika occupancy were found.
Academic text (2017) -
In the Great Basin of the American West, pikas live high in the mountains on rocky talus slopes.
Academic text (2004) -
We also noted when a site was surveyed but no evidence of pika presence was found.
Academic text (2017) -
Do pikas structure plant communities because of their fear of being eaten?
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Actually, the really neat thing about pikas is that they're an indicator species.
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A warming climate is one of the reasons that some lower-elevation pika populations have vanished.
Academic text (2004) -
Here we report on recently discovered populations in northwestern Nevada in areas not suspected to support pika activity under current climate regimes.
Academic text (2017) -
Occupied sites were identified by one or more detections of hay piles containing current year vegetation, pika calls, and pika sightings.
Academic text (2017) -
Pikas don't hibernate and so have to feed periodically even during the winter.
Academic text (2011) -
The American pika, a small mammal closely related to rabbits, thrives in the rocky slopes of high mountains.
Synonyms
1
9.9
An old word for a rabbit or other burrowing mammal
A small animal like a rabbit that lives in cold mountains, called a pika
A small short-eared animal that lives among rocks in Asia and western North America
A small animal with short ears that lives in holes among mountain rocks
A small animal like a rabbit that lives in rocky mountains of western North America
A small animal like a rabbit that lives in rocky mountain areas in North America
A small animal like a rabbit that eats plants and lives on rocky slopes in Alaska and northwest Canada
A small animal like a rabbit with short ears and no tail that lives on rocky slopes in Alaska
Compounds
A small animal like a rabbit with short ears and no tail that lives on rocky slopes in Alaska
Surface Forms
Etymology
Pika comes from the Russian name pika, probably borrowed from a native Siberian or Mongolian word for the animal. A helpful way to remember pika is to think of its short, sharp 'whistle' among mountain rocks, because the name may copy that sound and so now means the small, short-eared mammal found in high, rocky places.