a crested nocturnal bird, Rhynochetos jubatus, with a red bill and greyish plumage: occurs only in New Caledonia and is nearly extinct: family Rhynochetidae, order Gruiformes (cranes, rails, etc)
Word origin
native name in New Caledonia
kagu in American English
(ˈkɑːɡuː)
noun
a raillike bird, Rhinochetus jubatus, of the island of New Caledonia, having a gray body, black-and-white wings, and a long, shaggy crest: an endangered species
Word origin
[1860–65; ‹ a language of New Caledonia]This word is first recorded in the period 1860–65. Other words that entered Englishat around the same time include: Paleolithic, big brother, calibrate, institutionalism, prep
Examples of 'kagu' in a sentence
kagu
The kagu is a white bird with a daft great crest on its head.
Times, Sunday Times (2012)
Why did evolution come up with the kagu?
Times, Sunday Times (2012)
The kagu is a one-off, a virtuoso bit of evolution, a bird to baffle and boggle.
Times, Sunday Times (2012)
But what can you do with a bird as capricious and as secretive as a kagu?