nido-, nid-, nidi-, nidu-

1. Pertaining to birds which are hatched with very small and soft feathers, well-developed legs, open eyes, the capacity to feed themselves, and the ability to leave their nests shortly after hatching: A nidifugous quail, duck, or pheasant is covered with down (hair-like feathers) when it is born, and as soon as it is dry, it is able to walk, follow its parents, and pick up its own food.
2. Etymology: from Latin nidus, "nest" + fugere, "to flee".

To build or to construct a nest or nests: Gerda was using her binoculars to watch a pair of sparrows nidifing in the branches of a nearby tree.

Someone who studies bird nests and their related avian behaviors and associations: Steven and the other nidologists do research in the way different species of birds produce retreats for their young and how the various newly hatched birds are cared for.

The study and comparisons of bird nests: George and the specialists in nidology focus on a variety of environmental conditions that influence the way sparrows, for example, provide for their young.

Partially surrounded or lying free in a hollow or cup-like structure: The tiny hummingbird was living in the nidulant nest that the adult female had constructed.

Descriptive of a fungus in a bird's nest: Jim, the biologist, said that it might be possible to date the age of a bird's lodgings by studying the layers of nidulariaceous content in it.

To include the contents of an aviary's breeding place with a fungus: There are some biologists who believe that the more birds nidulate layers of special organic material into their nests, the older such structures will be.

A period of time staying in a nest: The time frame for nidulation varies among the various bird species, depending on how long it takes for the eggs to hatch, the little birds to be fed, grow, and to fly away.

A group of nerve-cell bodies in the central nervous system: During surgery, Dr. Smith, the surgeon, was careful to avoid the niduluses which were near the spine.

1. A nest or place in which birds, insects, spiders, etc. deposit their eggs: During their stroll on the beach, Janine and James discovered two nidi of sandpipers, or small wading birds, that usually pick up insects, worms, and soft mollusks in the mud and sand near oceans.
2. A breeding place in a living organism where disease germs develop: Nidus is a focus of origin; such as, a collection of bacteria of infections in a living organism.
3. A point or place at which something starts, develops, or accumulates; for example, the center around which salts of calcium, uric acid, or bile acid form calculi: The nidus is the beginning of a crystal or similar solid deposit.

A swallow's nest: Small, migratory birds of the Hirundinidae family with long, pointed, moon-shaped wings and forked tails make their nidus hirundines by using saliva as a cement for their mud-built nests.