Cha·par·ral n.
 1. A thicket of low evergreen oaks.
 2. An almost impenetrable thicket or succession of thickets of thorny shrubs and brambles.
 Chaparral cock; fem. Chaparral hen Zool., a bird of the cuckoo family (Geococcyx Californianus), noted for running with great speed. It ranges from California to Mexico and eastward to Texas; -- called also road runner, ground cuckoo, churea, and snake killer.  It is the state bird of New Mexico.
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 Cock n.
 1. The male of birds, particularly of gallinaceous or domestic fowls.
 2. A vane in the shape of a cock; a weathercock.
    Drenched our steeples, drowned the cocks!   --Shak.
 3. A chief man; a leader or master. [Humorous]
    Sir Andrew is the cock of the club, since he left us.   --Addison.
 4. The crow of a cock, esp. the first crow in the morning; cockcrow. [Obs.]
    He begins at curfew, and walks till the first cock.   --Shak.
 5. A faucet or valve.
 Note: ☞ Jonsons says, “The handle probably had a cock on the top; things that were contrived to turn seem anciently to have had that form, whatever was the reason.” Skinner says, because it used to be constructed in forma critæ galli, i.e., in the form of a cock's comb.
 6. The style of gnomon of a dial.
 7. The indicator of a balance.
 8. The bridge piece which affords a bearing for the pivot of a balance in a clock or watch.
 Ball cock. See under Ball.
 Chaparral cock. See under Chaparral.
 Cock and bull story, an extravagant, boastful story; a canard.
 Cock of the plains Zool. See Sage cock.
 Cock of the rock Zool., a South American bird (Rupicola aurantia) having a beautiful crest.
 Cock of the walk, a chief or master; the hero of the hour; one who has overcrowed, or got the better of, rivals or competitors.
 Cock of the woods. See Capercailzie.
 chaparral cock
      n : speedy largely terrestrial bird found from California and
          Mexico to Texas [syn: roadrunner, Geococcyx
          californianus]