A bird that makes cranking or harsh sounds, or moves with a jerky, mechanical motion.
From crank (to turn with a rotating motion, or to make a harsh sound) + bird. A compound word describing a bird's behavior or vocalizations through mechanical metaphor.
Some crows and jays produce sounds that genuinely resemble mechanical cranking—ornithologists think these harsh calls might be warning signals that startle predators by sounding 'unnatural' to other animals.
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