Guuguubarra
/ˌɡuːɡuːˈbærə/noun
An Indigenous Australian name and variant spelling for the kookaburra, a kingfisher known for its loud, laughing call.
Did you know?Guuguubarra is an onomatopoeic Indigenous Australian name: its repeated syllables imitate the kookaburra’s distinctive call rather than describing a supernatural creature.
Etymological Timeline
Pre-colonial period
Wiradjuri
guuguubarra
“An imitative name for the kookaburra, modeled on its call”
18th–19th Century
Australian Indigenous languages
gugubarra / gogobera
“Regional forms of the bird’s call-based name”
19th Century
Australian English
kookaburra
“A borrowing used for the laughing kingfisher”
19th–20th Century
Australian English
guuguubarra
“A retained or respelled Indigenous form of the kookaburra name”
Modern English
English
Guuguubarra
“A variant or Indigenous-language form referring to the kookaburra”
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