becquer

An older, dialectal variant of becqueter, meaning for a bird to peck at food with its beak. Modern French almost always uses becqueter (or its spelling variant béqueter) instead — becquer survives mainly in regional speech and older texts.

• La poule becque le grain dans la cour. — The hen pecks at the grain in the yard.
• L'oiseau becquait les miettes tombées au sol. — The bird was pecking at the crumbs that had fallen to the ground.
• Les poussins becquent dès qu'on ouvre la mangeoire. — The chicks peck as soon as the feeder is opened.

Don't use becquer as your default "to peck" — becqueter is the standard modern form; becquer will read as regional or old-fashioned.

Often confused with becqueter.