Definitions
from The Century Dictionary.
- noun In ornithology, the integument of the whole beak, of which the rhinotheca, dertrotheca, and gnathotheca are parts.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- noun (Zoöl.) The horny covering of the bill of birds.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- noun A thin
horny sheath ofkeratin on the outer surface of abird 'sbeak .
Etymologies
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Examples
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Are the premaxillae and dentaries cut in beak trimming, or is it strictly trimming of the rhamphotheca?
treeseed commented on the word rhamphotheca
The outside surface of a beak is covered by a thin horny sheath of keratin called the rhamphotheca. Between the hard outer layer and the bone is a vascular layer containing blood vessels and nerve endings. The rhamphotheca also includes the knob which is found above the beak of some swans, such as the Mute Swan.
_Wikipedia
February 24, 2008