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aiagata (Yamana, Chile) to rise up on end and take a deep dive, as the whale when it raises up its flukes

itupi (Mambwe, Zambia) dead fish found floating

hu-q-a (Nuuchahnulth, Canada) a salmon going along with its dorsal fin out of the water

… and of birds and insects on the ground and in the air:

abhinibbijjhati (Pali, India) to break quite through (said of the chick coming through the shell of the egg)

magaatu (Yamana, Chile) to tuck the head under the wing, as birds do when composed for sleep

ava-sam-dī na (Sanskrit) the united downward flight of birds

khpa (Dakota, USA) to be wet or clogged, as mosquitos’ wings with dew

tikutamoamo (Gilbertese, Oceania) to alight everywhere (of a dragonfly)

Scratch, chew, tear, beat

Some actions are common to many creatures:

kwe-swanta (Ganda, Uganda) to lick one’s chops when one has not had enough to eat

kengerhele (Tsonga, South Africa) to stop suddenly in surprise, be on the alert, as animals hearing a noise

kukuta (Swahili) to shake off water after getting wet, in the way a bird or dog does

zeula (Kalanga, Botswana) the chewing of animals late at night

hachistitabatli (Alabama, USA) to beat the tail on the ground

imba (Mambwe, Zambia) to tear away the prey from one another, as animals fighting over food

Wriggle, wriggle

There are words for sounds too, even those surely heard only by those who live cheek by jowl with the fauna of the world:

pasáw (Tagalog, Philippines) the noise of fish wriggling in the water

rerejat (Iban, Sarawak and Brunei) the noise made by a cricket on landing

kíchchu (Tamil) the chirping of birds; the whining of infants

ekkaranam (Tamil) a noise which a bull makes when about to attack another

saratata (Buli, Ghana) the sound and behaviour of running animals (leaving a trail of dust in the air)

tyaka-tyaka (Tsonga, South Africa) the noise of cattle crashing through dry bush

gungurhu-gungurhu-gungurhu (Tsonga, South Africa) to clatter like a rat trapped in a box

andala (Arabic) the song of the nightingale

atit (Arabic) the moaning bray of a camel

inchasàaya (Alabama, USA) a rattlesnake’s rattle

Sunday roast

There are words to describe the most detailed aspects of an animal’s appearance …

scory (Scots) the wrinkled texture of a hedgehog’s cheeks

gansuthi (Boro, India) the first-grown feather of a bird’s wing

kapy-āsa (Sanskrit) the buttocks of an ape

sondi (Pali, India) the neck of a tortoise

sprochaille (Irish) the loose fold of skin between the legs of a turkey

mokadi (Setswana, Botswana) the fat of a bullfrog

kuris (Manobo, Philippines) the fortune of a chicken written in the scales of its feet

Tucked away

… how they store their food:

bráða-hola (Old Icelandic) a hole where the wild beasts carry their prey

wakhedan (Dakota, USA) the places from which squirrels dig up food

achnátus (Karuk, North America) a place where a rat stores its food

tsembetuta (Chichewa, Malawi) a type of mouse known for saving food for the future

indagitagan (Ojibway, North America) the place where a wild animal goes to eat in the woods

Crocodile skid

… even how they behave in specific and group ways:

kekerikaki (Gilbertese, Oceania) a fish which sometimes swims backwards

teosammul (Estonian) the speed of a snail

atiqtuq (Iñupiat, Inuit) bears going down to the sea

wosdohedan (Dakota, USA) paths made by squirrels in the grass

pe’mkowe’t (Potawatomi, USA) bear tracks in the snow

lantar (Iban, Sarawak and Brunei) the skidmark left on a riverbank by a boat or crocodile sliding into the water

Wa!

Originally, humans began by treating animals as hostile, to be hunted, chased away or killed:

phongoloxa (Tsonga, South Africa) to throw stones or sticks at an animal to frighten it away

p’isqeyay (Quechuan, Andes) to scare off birds

khapela (Tsonga, South Africa) to drive animals into another’s land so that they may do damage there

bohnaskinyan (Dakota, USA) to make an animal crazy or furious by shooting

phitsisitse (Setswana, Botswana) to kill an