Source : Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)

Altrices \Al*tri"ces\, n. pl. [L., nourishes, pl. of altrix.]
   (Zo["o]l.)
   Nursers, -- a term applied to those birds whose young are
   hatched in a very immature and helpless condition, so as to
   require the care of their parents for some time; -- opposed
   to {pr[ae]coces}.