I taste better than I can smell. Who am I?

I am the black child of a white father, a wingless bird, flying even to the clouds of heaven. I give birth to tears of mourning in pupils that meet me, even though there is no cause for grief, and at once on my birth, I am dissolved into air. What am I?

Let's play a word game. Following are some meaningless words that can be completed by adding random letters on either side of the word.

For example, the word "rdo" can be formed into "pardon".

Using the same technique, can you complete the given words?
ecalc
airb
rinci
tibac
uidel
gorit
igna
eyho

What can you catch but never throw?

Can you solve the tricky chess rebus puzzle below by ciphering the hidden meaning?

What do you answer even though it never asks you questions?

What word is pronounced the same if you take away four of its five letters?

The more it dries, the wetter it becomes. Can you tell what it is?

f you were running a race, and you passed the person in 2nd place, what place would you be in now?

What is always in front of you but can’t be seen?