coucal

American

[koo-kuhl] / ˈku kəl /

noun

any of several Old World cuckoos of the genus Centropus, having harsh-textured plumage and a long, daggerlike hind claw.

coucal British

/ ˈkuːkæl, -kəl /

noun

any ground-living bird of the genus Centropus, of Africa, S Asia, and Australia, having long strong legs: family Cuculidae (cuckoos)

"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

Etymology

Origin of coucal

1805–15; < French, said to be equivalent to couc ( ou ) cuckoo + al ( ouette ) lark

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

We also spotted purple swamp hens and rusty-black coucals, whose eerie lowing seemed to surround us.

From BBC

The finding of a coucal at the Cocoa Research Station on May 15, 1963, came as something of a surprise, since none had been seen there earlier by our group.

From Project Gutenberg

The call of this bird, which continues later in the year than that of the common cuckoo, is not unlike the whoot-whoot-whoot of the crow-pheasant or coucal.

From Project Gutenberg

The nest of the crow-pheasant or coucal is a massive structure, globular in shape, with the entrance at one side.

From Project Gutenberg

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023