upjerk

English

Etymology

up- +‎ jerk

Noun

upjerk (plural upjerks)

1. An upward jerk.
   • 1877, Thomas Caverhill Jerdon, The Birds of India, page 500:

     […] rocky pinnacles, from whence he sends forth a sort of choking chattering song, if such it can be called, or, with an upjerk of the tail, hops away with a loud musical whistle, very much after the manner of the Blackbird.

   • 1923, Arthur Cleveland Bent, Life Histories of North American Birds: Wild Fowl, page 76:

     He continues — "There was the same rear up, with the head bent down, followed by an upjerk of the hind parts; the long sickle-shaped tertials, so noticeable in this species, seemed little if at all expanded, […]