Rookery

"The Rooks Have Returned" (1871)
by Alexei Savrasov

Thanks to everyone who made the launch of American Alligator a success! It was a terrific week.

Here’s a collection of words fit for dreaming away this indecisive winter:

Corvine - relating to ravens. From the Latin, Corvus, for which the constellation is named (though one scholar on my shelf thinks the constellation was a cup before the Romans got to it). Rooks, the cousins of the ravens are heralds of spring.

Nidicolous - sharing the nest of another animal. By extension, I wonder if house pets can be considered nidicolous...

Implumous - lacking feathers.