(Adj.) occurring or distributed over widely-spaced and irregular intervals in time or space "Books were scattered everywhere"
(N.) someone that travels by getting free rides in passing vehicles "Some even landed on the raft and rode with us for a while. Hitchhikers, Grandma called them.
(V.) (of a bird) straighten and clean its feathers with its beak "Then it preened its feathers, looked back up the river, and flew off."