flapling
nounEtymology From flap + -ling.
1
Biology, History, Human sciences, Natural sciences, Paleontology, Sciences Informal A juvenile animal, especially pterosaur, that can fly immediately or soon after birth.
- The flaplings, with short faces and only very little teeth, must seek out their own food, and restrict themselves to land, agilely snapping at insects until they are old enough to venture out to the fishing waters with their relatives.2022, Thomas Halliday, Otherlands, Penguin, published 2023, page 148: