A hatchling is a baby animal that has just broken out of its egg. The moment a chick pecks through its shell and tumbles into the world, wet and wobbly, it becomes a hatchling. The same goes for baby turtles digging their way out of sandy nests, or tiny crocodiles cracking through leathery eggs.

The word comes from hatch, which means to emerge from an egg. Scientists and nature lovers use hatchling to describe these brand-new creatures during their first days or weeks of life, when they're still figuring out how to walk, swim, or fly. A sea turtle hatchling, for instance, must make a dangerous dash across the beach to reach the ocean, guided by instinct.

Not all baby animals are hatchlings, though. Puppies, kittens, and human babies aren't hatchlings because they're born live rather than hatching from eggs. But if it breaks out of an egg, whether it's a robin, a python, or even a platypus, it starts life as a hatchling.