laughing jackass

American  

noun

1. kookaburra.

---

laughing jackass British  

noun

1. another name for kookaburra

---

Etymology

Origin of laughing jackass

First recorded in 1780–90; so called because of its loud braying sound

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

laughing jackass

Googarh, the iguana, was married to Moodai, the opossum and Cookooburrah, the laughing jackass.

From Australian Legendary Tales: folklore of the Noongahburrahs as told to the Piccaninnies by Parker, K. Langloh (Katie Langloh)

The laughing jackass is not a bit afraid of them.

From Our Young Folks at Home and Abroad by Dale, Daphne

We could hear the notes of several birds, and louder than all the rest of their voices was that of the laughing jackass, which has already been described.

From The Land of the Kangaroo Adventures of Two Youths in a Journey through the Great Island Continent by Knox, Thomas Wallace

They imitate with precision the notes of the laughing jackass, the parrot, the solemn mopoke, and moreover they reproduce every sound made by man.

From Australian Pictures Drawn with Pen and Pencil by Willoughby, Howard

The laughing jackass, perched upon a bare limb, was awaking the forest echoes with his insane fits of laughter, alternating from a good-humoured chuckle to the frenzied ravings of a despairing maniac.

From Australian Search Party by Bates, Henry Walter