||Pter`o*cle"tes (?), n. pl. [NL., fr Pterocles, the typical genus, fr. Gr. &?; feather + &?;, &?;, a key, tongue of a clasp.] (Zoöl.) A division of birds including the sand grouse. They are in some respects intermediate between the pigeons and true grouse. Called also Pteroclomorphæ.