Hatching out into adventure
WHEN a chick hatches from an egg, its state of development varies widely from species to species, and is termed either precocial or altricial. Precocial describes those species such as ducks and swans, whose chicks are born in an advanced state of development, with soft down. Within a few hours of birth, they are on the water with their parents and feeding for themselves.
In the other nest are the altricial birds. These consist of by far the largest number of bird species, in which the chicks
