In biology, nidifugous ( , )

organism An organism is any life, living thing that functions as an individual. Such a definition raises more problems than it solves, not least because the concept of an individual is also difficult. Many criteria, few of them widely accepted, have be ...

s are those that leave the

nest A nest is a structure built for certain animals to hold Egg (biology), eggs or young. Although nests are most closely associated with birds, members of all classes of vertebrates and some invertebrates construct nests. They may be composed of ...

shortly after hatching or birth. The term is derived from Latin ''nidus'' for "nest" and ''fugere'', meaning "to flee". The terminology is most often used to describe birds and was introduced by

Lorenz Oken Lorenz Oken (1 August 1779 – 11 August 1851) was a Germans, German natural history, naturalist, botany, botanist, biologist, and ornithology, ornithologist. Biography Oken was born Lorenz Okenfuss () in Bohlsbach (now part of Offenburg), Ortena ...

in 1816. The chicks of birds in many families, such as the

wader 245px, A flock of Red_knot.html" ;"title="Dunlins and Red knot">Dunlins and Red knots Waders or shorebirds are birds of the order Charadriiformes commonly found wikt:wade#Etymology 1, wading along shorelines and mudflats in order to foraging, ...

waterfowl Anseriformes is an order of birds also known as waterfowl that comprises about 180 living species of birds in three families: Anhimidae (three species of screamers), Anseranatidae (the magpie goose), and Anatidae, the largest family, which i ...

, and

gamebird Galliformes is an order of heavy-bodied ground-feeding birds that includes turkeys, chickens, quail, and other landfowl. Gallinaceous birds, as they are called, are important in their ecosystems as seed dispersers and predators, and are ofte ...

s, are usually nidifugous. The opposite of nidifugous organisms are nidicolous ( ; from Latin ''nidus'' "nest" and ''-colus'' "inhabiting") organisms; a nidicolous organism is one which stays at its birthplace for a long time because it depends on its parents for food, protection, and the learning of survival skills. Examples of nidicolous species include

mammal A mammal () is a vertebrate animal of the Class (biology), class Mammalia (). Mammals are characterised by the presence of milk-producing mammary glands for feeding their young, a broad neocortex region of the brain, fur or hair, and three ...

s and many species of

bird Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class (biology), class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the Oviparity, laying of Eggshell, hard-shelled eggs, a high Metabolism, metabolic rate, a fou ...

s. During the life span, the brain of a nidicolous animal expands 8–10 times its initial size; in nidifugous animals, it expands from 1.5 to 2.5 times.

Relation to precociality and altriciality

Two other terms are also used by scientists for related developmental phenomena: ''

altricial Precocial species in birds and mammals are those in which the young are relatively mature and mobile from the moment of birth or hatching. They are normally nidifugous, meaning that they leave the nest shortly after birth or hatching. Altricial ...

'' (relatively undeveloped at birth or hatching; helpless, blind, without feathers or hair, and unable to fend for themselves) and ''

precocial Precocial species in birds and mammals are those in which the young are relatively mature and mobile from the moment of birth or hatching. They are normally nidifugous, meaning that they leave the nest shortly after birth or hatching. Altricial ...

'' (relatively developed at birth or hatching; able to fend for themselves).Ehrlich, P. R., Dobkin, D. S., & Wheye, D. (1988).
The birder's handbook: A field guide to the natural history of North American birds: including all species that regularly breed north of Mexico
'. New York: Simon & Schuster, p. 582 The term ''nidifugous'' is sometimes used synonymously with ''

'', as all nidifugous species are precocial. Similarly, all altricial animals are nidicolous by necessity. However, not all precocial birds leave the nest; some may stay at the nest even if they are precocial and fully capable of leaving if needed. These species are thus considered nidicolous rather than nidifugous. Examples of precocious but nidicolous species include many gulls and terns.

References

Animal developmental biology Taxa named by Lorenz Oken {{developmental-biology-stub

Relation to precociality and altriciality

See also

References