altricial

al·tri·cial  (l-trshl)

adj.

Helpless, naked, and blind when hatched: altricial birds.

---

[From Latin altrx, altrc-, feminine of altor, nourisher, from alere, to nourish; see al-² in Indo-European roots.]

---

altricial  (l-trshl)

Born or hatched in a helpless condition requiring prolonged parental care, as by being naked, blind, or unable to move about. Nesting birds, monotremes, marsupials, and carnivores have altricial young. Compare precocial.

Thesaurus

Adj.

1.

altricial - (of hatchlings) naked and blind and dependent on parents for food precocial - (of hatchlings) covered with down and having eyes open; capable of leaving the nest within a few days