cobra chicken

English

Etymology

From a likening of the bird to a cobra due to its tendency to warn off threats by rearing its long-necked head and hissing.

Noun

cobra chicken (plural cobra chickens)

  1. (chiefly Canada, US, slang, humorous) A Canada goose (Branta canadensis).
    • 2020 December, Randy King, “What's Good For The Goose”, in Northwest Sportsman‎[1], volume 13, number 3, page 143:
      But as much as I wanted to let her chase down the cobra chicken like it was hunting season, this was the middle of the summer.
    • 2023, H. S. Torben, Flying Fluke‎[2], unnumbered page:
      Finn loved this kid and marveled at how quickly she calmed down. He didn't want to let her out of his sight ever again, even to go outside and feed cobra chickens.
    • 2024, Meg Fitzpatrick, Sins and Secrets‎[3], unnumbered page:
      And yeah, it's totally fitting that Alana would have a flock of Cobra Chickens to protect her security company.
    • For more quotations using this term, see Citations:cobra chicken.
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