Printer Friendly
Dictionary, Encyclopedia and Thesaurus - The Free Dictionary
3,901,425,038 visitors served.
forum Join the Word of the Day Mailing List For webmasters
?
Dictionary/
thesaurus
Medical
dictionary
Legal
dictionary
Financial
dictionary
Acronyms
 
Idioms
Encyclopedia
Wikipedia
encyclopedia
?

laughing jackass
(redirected from laughing jackasses)

   Also found in: Dictionary/thesaurus, Medical 0.02 sec.
laughing jackass: see kookaburra kookaburra , common name for a squat, long-tailed Australian kingfisher, Dacelo navaguinae. It is one of the largest birds of the family Alcedinidae (kingfisher family).
..... Click the link for more information.
.

kookaburra

 or laughing jackass

Enlarge picture
Kookaburra (Dacelo gigas)
(credit: Bucky Reeves from The National Audubon Society Collection/Photo Researchers)
Eastern Australian species (Dacelo gigas) of forest kingfisher (subfamily Daceloninae). Its call, which sounds like fiendish laughter, can be heard very early in the morning and just after sunset. A gray-brown, woodland-dwelling bird, it reaches a length of 17 in. (43 cm), with a 3.2–4-in. (8–10-cm) beak. In its native habitat it eats invertebrates and small vertebrates, including venomous snakes. In western Australia and New Zealand, where it has been introduced, it has been known to attack chickens and ducklings.


laughing jackass
bird whose cry brings in daylight. [Euahlayi Legend: How the People Sang The Mountains Up, 19]
See : Dawn


Want to thank TFD for its existence? Tell a friend about us, add a link to this page, add the site to iGoogle, or visit the webmaster's page for free fun content.
?Page tools
Printer friendly
Cite / link
Feedback
Mentioned in?  References in periodicals archive?   Encyclopedia browser?   Full browser?
No references found
 
The birds, which have short dark brown and cream bodies with long bills, are also known as Laughing Jackasses, because their call sounds like insane cackling.
 
 
 
Encyclopedia
?

Terms of Use | Privacy policy | Feedback | Advertise with Us | Copyright © 2012 Farlex, Inc.
Disclaimer
All content on this website, including dictionary, thesaurus, literature, geography, and other reference data is for informational purposes only. This information should not be considered complete, up to date, and is not intended to be used in place of a visit, consultation, or advice of a legal, medical, or any other professional.