kookaburra

American  

[kook-uh-bur-uh, -buhr-uh] / ˈkʊk əˌbɜr ə, -ˌbʌr ə /

noun

1. an Australian kingfisher, Dacelo gigas, having a loud, harsh cry that resembles laughter.

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kookaburra British  

/ ˈkʊkəˌbʌrə /

noun

1. Also called: laughing jackass.  a large arboreal Australian kingfisher, Dacelo novaeguineae (or gigas ), with a cackling cry

2. Also called: blue-winged kookaburra.  a related smaller bird D. Leachii , of tropical Australia and New Guinea

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Etymology

Origin of kookaburra

First recorded in 1885–90, kookaburra is from the Wiradjuri word gugubarra (imitative)

Example Sentences

Australians are well accustomed to swooping birds - there's plovers, noisy miners and even the kookaburra.

From BBC

In a country featuring some unique native fauna, the animal emblems of New South Wales are the platypus and kookaburra.

From Seattle Times

Mr. Eifert enjoyed the lush backyard with parrots, cockatoos and kookaburras and snorkeling nearby in the Great Barrier Reef, and a few days later they joined Mr. Davies-Griffith’s parents in Sydney.

From New York Times

The smell of gum trees, the sight of the huge Moreton Bay figs and the sound of laughing kookaburras perched on them are the things that enticed Ms Kramer back to Sydney.

From BBC

There was the distant laugh of a single kookaburra.

From Washington Post