black cockatoo

English

Noun

black cockatoo (plural black cockatoos)

1. Any of various species of Australian cockatoo of the genera Calyptorhynchus and Zanda having mainly black plumage; sometimes also the great black cockatoo, Probosciger aterrimus.
   • 1985, Peter Carey, Illywhacker, Faber & Faber, published 2003, page 95:

     Black cockatoos filled the air above her and their harsh screeching seemed only to echo the hostile nature of the bush.

   • 1987, Bruce Chatwin, The Songlines, Vintage, published 1998, page 128:

     As we walked up to one of the gum trees, a flock of black cockatoos flew out, squawking like rusty hinges, and settled on a dead gum up ahead.

Translations

black cockatoo, particularly of the genus Calyptorhynchus

• Dutch: raafkaketoe m