A New Jersey regional dialect name for the American bittern (Botaurus lentiginosus), a secretive wading bird. The name is almost certainly imitative of the bird's distinctive booming call. Dialect bird names like this are fascinating linguistic artefacts, though largely unknown outside the immediate region.
Locals called the bird a dunkadoo for the hollow thumping sound it made from the reeds at dusk.
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(US, chiefly, New Jersey) The American bittern.
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Regional slang from around the English-speaking world — British, Australian, Irish, Caribbean, Nigerian, Filipino, AAVE, and the hyphenated-English dialects that make the internet sound local.
See all Regional & Other slang on Slangora.