pika

American  

[pahy-kuh] / ˈpaɪ kə /

noun

1. any of several small, brown to gray tailless mammals of the genus Ochotona, resembling rabbits with short ears and legs and inhabiting western mountains of North America and parts of eastern Europe and Asia.

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pika British  

/ ˈpaɪkə /

noun

1. Also called: cony.  any burrowing lagomorph mammal of the family Ochotonidae of mountainous regions of North America and Asia, having short rounded ears, a rounded body, and rudimentary tail

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Etymology

Origin of pika

1820–30; recorded by the German naturalist P.S. Pallas (1741–1811) as the name for the animal in Evenki; compare Evenki (N Baikal dial.) pikačān a name for the tree creeper ( Certhia familiaris ), apparently based on Russian píkatʾ to squeak, peep (compare Russian pishchúkha a name for both the tree creeper and the pika, which emits a shrill sound)

Example Sentences

In Tibet he staked out the 4-ounce pika, a relative of the rabbit.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 8, 2026

She worked on bristlecones for years but has added other subjects of study, including the pika, an adorable rabbit-like mammal that thrives in mountain zones.

From The New Yorker • Jan. 13, 2020

Then, members upload pika sightings to a database maintained by the Point Defiance and Oregon zoos, which have spearheaded the Cascades Pika Watch program.

From Seattle Times • Aug. 7, 2017

But what happens when temperatures at the top become too warm for the pika?

From National Geographic Kids • May 31, 2017

The pika is so small and so weak that in the open he could not possibly dig down below the grizzly bear's ability to dig.

From The Minds and Manners of Wild Animals A Book of Personal Observations by Hornaday, William Temple