cavity at the end of the digestive tract that receives feces, uric acid, and eggs and sperm for expulsion from the body; its upper section receives digestive wastes (feces) from the intestines; the middle section receives nitrogenous metabolic wastes (uric acid) from the kidneys, and eggs and sperm from the gonads; feces and uric acid are expelled together; a female eagle may “clear the cloaca,” or expel any wastes a few minutes before laying an egg; Latin cloaca = drain