Tympanuchus cupido
- noun
- /ˌtɪmpəˈnuːkəs ˈkjuːpɪdoʊ/
- Specialized
- During spring, the Tympanuchus cupido performs elaborate dances on the lek to attract mates.
Examples
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Researchers observed a flock of Tympanuchus cupido booming at sunrise on the prairie.
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Habitat loss has caused a steep decline in Tympanuchus cupido populations across the Midwest.
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The Tympanuchus cupido is known for its elaborate mating rituals.
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Many birdwatchers travel to see the Tympanuchus cupido during the mating season.
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During spring, the Tympanuchus cupido performs elaborate dances on the lek to attract mates.
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Researchers observed a flock of Tympanuchus cupido booming at sunrise on the prairie.
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Many birdwatchers travel to see the Tympanuchus cupido during the mating season.
Synonyms
A brown spotted bird that lives in North American grasslands and makes a low booming call during mating
A large brown bird that lives in North American grasslands and makes loud mating calls
Surface Forms
Morphology
Tympanuchus + cupido
The genus name 'Tympanuchus' is defined here as prairie chickens, so a learner who knows the constituents could infer this denotes a species within that bird group. However, 'cupido' is a Latin species epithet (not an English lexical item) and taxonomic binomials are convention-driven rather than semantically compositional, so the precise common name 'greater prairie chicken' and its behavioral traits are not directly derivable.
Etymology
Tympanuchus cupido comes from old words meaning 'drum' and 'desire', with Tympanuchus pointing to the drum-like sound and cupido to mating desire. The male bird puffs its neck and makes loud, drum-like booms while dancing to attract females, so the name fits its booming mating display.