cock-of-the-rock

[kok-uh v-th uh-rok]

noun, plural cocks-of-the-rock.

a brilliant orange-red bird of the genus Rupicola, of northern South America, having an erect crest that conceals the bill.

Origin of cock-of-the-rock

First recorded in 1815–25

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

British Dictionary definitions for cock-of-the-rock

cock-of-the-rock

noun

either of two tropical South American birds, Rupicola rupicola or R. peruviana, having an erectile crest and (in the male) a brilliant red or orange plumage: family Cotingidae (cotingas)

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012