What Is a Male Bird Called?

David Wright/CC-BY-2.0

A male bird can be called a rooster, cock, peacock, gander, tom cob, tercel, tiercel, drake or simply male. Most male birds are called cocks, while most female birds are called hens.

A rooster or a cock is a male chicken, distinguished by his generally larger comb and sickled tail feathers. A young rooster is a cockerel, while a castrated rooster is a capon.

A gander is a male goose, a tom is a male turkey and a cob is a male swan. A tercel is a male falcon, while a tiercel is a male hawk. A drake is a male duck.

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