Why this word is great
KLEPTOTRICHY — [Noun] The avian practice of pilfering hair directly from living mammals to line nests. From klepto- (Ancient Greek κλέπτω (kléptō), "to steal") + -trichy (Ancient Greek θρίξ (thríx), "hair"). Unlike "kleptoparasitism" (which targets food or provisions) or "plumage" (which denotes a bird’s own feathers), kleptotrichy is an intimate burglary—soft, precise, almost tender. It is the titmouse plucking strands from a sleeping fox’s ruff, the hummingbird hovering to harvest guard hairs from a deer’s twitching flank, the bold chickadee yanking tufts from a human scalp mid-picnic. A nest lined with stolen warmth is both a marvel of adaptation and a quiet reminder: survival is rarely polite.