black cockatoo

noun

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.

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Meanings

nounblack cockatoo (plural black cockatoos)

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.

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

    1985, Peter Carey, Illywhacker, Faber & Faber, published 2003, page 95
    1 more example

    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.

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

Translations

Dutch raafkaketoe
  • raafkaketoeblack cockatoo, particularly of the genus Calyptorhynchus
Cite this entry
APA

black cockatoo. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/black%20cockatoo

MLA

“black cockatoo.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/black%20cockatoo. Accessed November 5, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “black cockatoo,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/black%20cockatoo.

Source: black cockatoo on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.