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Wild Wings: Chapters 11–23

Eleven-year-old Callum and his neighbor Iona attempt to protect an endangered osprey.

Here are links to our lists for the novel: Prologue–Chapter 10, Chapters 11–23, Chapters 24–44
35 words 15 learners

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Full list of words from this list:

  1. graze
    feed as in a meadow or pasture
    As the Land Rover lurched over the rough ground, Iona told Hamish about the pine martens’ den she’d found in a hollowed tree and about the golden plovers that nested on the moorlands and the herd of red deer that grazed the high slopes above the farm.
  2. piercing
    having or emitting a high-pitched tone or tones
    We could hear his high, piercing alarm calls.
  3. astride
    with one leg on each side
    Hamish sat astride the branch, pulling the osprey upward.
  4. gauntlet
    a glove of armored leather that protects the hand
    Hamish pushed his hands into long leather gauntlets, and then slowly and carefully unfurled the canvas.
  5. furrow
    a long shallow trench in the ground
    The feathers weren’t just plain brown, but all the colors from dark, furrowed fields to pale golden wheat.
  6. tendon
    a band of tissue connecting a muscle to its bony attachment
    “That’s her tendon in there. If the line had cut the tendon, she wouldn’t be able to grasp with her foot. She’d never be able to fish again.”
  7. roost
    sit, rest, or settle, as on a branch or perch
    "You put it into your computer and it plots her journey on Google Earth. You might even be able to see which tree she roosts in.”
  8. sift
    check and sort carefully
    Iona probed around in the tin, sifting through the colored rings.
  9. treacle
    a syrup made of sugar cane
    She even managed a huge bowl of Mum’s best treacle pudding and custard.
  10. gale
    a strong wind moving 34–40 knots
    The fibers of the tree creaked and groaned as the gale thrashed against it.
  11. unfurl
    unroll, unfold, or spread out
    They had touched her and unfurled her wings.
  12. contour
    any spatial attributes, especially as defined by outline
    The boy had looked deep into her eyes and she had stared back, mapping the strange contours of his face.
  13. acrid
    strong and sharp, as a taste or smell
    The acrid breath of their machine had long blown away across the hillside.
  14. drafty
    not airtight; exposed to currents of air
    There were big drafty gaps we stuffed with sacking and tied with baler twine.
  15. mottled
    having spots or patches of color
    Its feathers were still a mottled cream and brown, and its eyes were deep amber, not yellow.
  16. gangly
    tall, thin, and awkward
    Its long, gangly legs were outstretched, and it wobbled in the air like a helicopter on a really windy day.
  17. parcel
    a wrapped package
    He handed Iona a parcel wrapped in shiny paper.
  18. prod
    push against gently
    Iona nodded, prodding at the sticky crumbs on her plate with a finger.
  19. squat
    having a low center of gravity; built low to the ground
    It was a small, squat cottage, painted in whitewash that had turned gray over the years.
  20. derelict
    in deplorable condition
    An old crofter’s cottage lay derelict beside it.
  21. musty
    covered with or smelling of mold
    I had to squeeze past piles and piles of boxes and old newspapers. The room smelled damp and musty, like spoiled grain.
  22. bristle
    a stiff hair
    I could see Iona’s granddad, the white bristles on his face, a reddened eye, and the sleeve of his dressing gown.
  23. hunker down
    take shelter
    She was hunkered down on the sheltered side of her nesting tree.
  24. fledgling
    having acquired flight feathers
    I couldn’t see the fledgling chick, but knew it must be huddled in there somewhere, trying to keep dry.
  25. preen
    clean with one's bill
    Her mate was preening his feathers, oiling them after the heavy rains.
  26. insistent
    repetitive and persistent
    She banked away from the aerie they had built from sticks and grasses, and away from the insistent calls of the full-grown chick they had reared that summer.
  27. eaves
    the overhang at the lower edge of a roof
    Feet scraped on the stone floor and voices rose up into the eaves.
  28. pulpit
    a platform raised to give prominence to the person on it
    Reverend Parsons helped them into their seats and climbed up into his eagle-winged pulpit.
  29. glower
    look angry or sullen as if to signal disapproval
    Euan just glowered at him.
  30. fortified
    secured with bastions
    “You’ll be pleased to know we’re starting the term with a project on castles and fortified towns,” she said.
  31. turret
    a small tower extending above a building
    Instead there was an article on the most amazing castle I had ever seen. It had turrets and high walls and was perched on the very edge of high mountains, like the edge of the world itself.
  32. strait
    a narrow channel joining two larger bodies of water
    She stayed near a reservoir there for nearly a week before heading off across the Strait of Gibraltar.
  33. squabble
    argue over petty things
    Hamish told me he’d been to Gibraltar before and seen loads of different migrating birds waiting for the right conditions to cross the stretch of water. He said it was like an airport lounge for different birds, squabbling for space until the right wind direction or clear skies carried them over the sea.
  34. expanse
    a wide and open space or area, as of land, sea, or sky
    On the map the huge expanse of the Sahara Desert stretched across Northern Africa. Pictures showed endless seas of sand dunes.
  35. oasis
    a fertile tract in a desert
    “Maybe she’s dipping her toes in a green oasis right now, a long, cool drink by her side.”
Created on Wed Aug 18 12:07:07 EDT 2021 (updated Mon Aug 23 15:52:46 EDT 2021)

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