dunkadoon.
/ˌdʌŋkəˈduː/, U.S. /ˌdəŋkəˈdu/ U.S. regional (New England). Now rare.
The American bittern, Botaurus lentiginosus.
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the world > animals > birds > freshwater birds > order Ciconiiformes (storks, etc.) > [noun] > family Ardeidae (herons and bitterns) > member of genus Botaurus (bittern) > miscellaneous types of
American bitternc1330
bitternc1330
shitepoke1775
dunkadooa1813
matuku1847
stake-driver1872
thunder-pumper1877
a1813 A. Wilson Amer. Ornithol. (1814) VIII. 35 American bittern. Ardea minor... On the sea coast of New Jersey it is known by the name of Dunkadoo, a word probably imitative of its common note.
1852 Graham's Mag. Nov. 466/1 I must admit that I never heard him called a Dunkadoo, either on the sea-coast of New Jersey or any where else.
1879 G. Conant New Eng. Feathered Songsters 106 Another bird, of curious name, stood by herself alone: The Dunkadoo she calls herself, and by that name she's known.
1909 Ann. Rep. New Jersey State Mus. 1908 99 Botaurus lentiginosus... Bittern, Stake-driver, Dunk-a-doo.
1955 Bull. Mass. Audubon Soc. 39 313 American Bittern. Many of the local names of the bittern have reference to, or are in imitation of, the peculiar notes of the male during the mating season..; Dunkadoo (Mass.).
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, September 2018; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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n.a1813