megatick

English

Etymology

From mega- +‎ tick (as in ticking off species on a checklist).

Pronunciation

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Noun

megatick (plural megaticks)

1. (slang, bird watching) A greatly desirable addition to the list of birds one has seen, usually because it is rare or seldom seen.
   • 1992, American Birding Association, Birding, Volumes 24-25, page 69:

     Megacrex is surely a megatick! I know of only two birders who have seen this bird, and thus I had no expectation of seeing it myself during a trip to New Guinea...

   • 2000, Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, Birds, Volume 18, page 128:

     They all looked as if they walked the Pennine Way for a megatick before breakfast.

   • 2003, Sophie Warne, Gabon, São Tomé and Príncipe, page 30:

     Birders come here to look for Finch's francolin, Congo moor chat and black- chinned weaver, among others. Other 'megaticks' include the distinctive black-collared bulbul, Petit's cuckoo-shrike, Salvadori's eremomela, yellow-bellied hyliota, Joanna's sunbird, the sought-after black-headed bee-eater and Ludher's bush shrike.