[The hen] went pecking by his side.
Dryden.
To peck at, to attack with petty and repeated blows; to carp at; to
nag; to tease.
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Peck (?), n. A quick, sharp stroke, as with the beak of a bird or a
pointed instrument.
Peck"er (?), n. 1. One who, or that which, pecks; specif., a bird that
pecks holes in trees; a woodpecker.