hadeda, hadedah, noun

/ˈhɑːdidɑː//ˈhɑːdədɑː/
Forms:
addada, hadadaShow more Also addada, hadada, hadadah, hadadaw, haddada, haddadau, haddidah, hadida, hadidah, hah-de-dah, hardidah, oddida.
Plurals:
usually hadedas, occasionally unchanged.
Origin:
Onomatopoeic, see quotations 1846 and 1899.
The large ibis Bostrychia hagedash of the Plataleidae, grey-brown in colour with metallic purple on the wings, and characterised by its loud, harsh call. Also attributive.
Note:
A common resident in built-up areas and cities, the hadeda is found in all but the drier regions of South Africa.
[1786 G. Forster tr. of A. Sparrman’s Voy. to Cape of G.H. I. 280Of the feathered tribe I found in Houtniquas a new species of tantalus, called by the colonists hagedash, and also hadelde. This latter name has, in some measure, the same sound as the bird’s note.]
1801 J. Barrow Trav. I. 264The Egyptian black ibis (niger), and another species of tantalus, called by the farmers the haddadas, were procured at this place.
1846 J.C. Brown tr. of T. Arbousset’s Narr. of Explor. Tour to N.-E. of Col. 190A large ibis, of a brown lustre, commonly called by onomatopy addada.
1861 T. Shone Diary. 9 Mar.A hadadaw for dinner, food as usual.
1890 A. Martin Home Life 239The grey ibis, now extinct in Egypt, but common enough in the Cape Colony, and..irreverently and absurdly named by the colonials ‘oddida’.
1899 R.B. & J.D.S. Woodward Natal Birds 191This bird derives its popular name of ‘Hadadah’ from its peculiar cry of ha-ha-hada-dah.
1907 Afr. Monthly Oct. 445Flocks of ‘ha-di-da’ grub silently and unconcernedly in close proximity to the camp.
1937 M. Alston Wanderings 100We surprised two ha-da-dahs (ibises) feeding on some marshy ground by the river,..handsome birds about thirty inches in length.
1956 P. Becker Sandy Tracks 87A flight of rowdy hadidah ibises passed overhead, to roost in the rocky slopes of the krantzes across the spruit.
1971 K.B. Newman Birdlife in Sn Afr. (1979) 195The Cattle Egret and the Hadeda Ibis are well-known examples of birds which have taken advantage of the changes caused by farming.
1989 H.P. Toffoli in Style Dec. 57You have wildlife — hadedas or vervet monkeys depending on the location — on your front lawn.
1992 S. Afr. Panorama Mar.–Apr. 120The mournful cries of hadedahs carry far on soft lake winds.
1993 A.P. Brink First Life of Adamastor 135Hadeda, race of ibis, regarded as a harbinger of death.
1994 M. Roberts tr. of J.A. Wahlberg’s Trav. Jrnls 1838–56 20Hadidas common in the woods. Wounded one antelope and one Hadida with small-shot.
The large ibis Bostrychia hagedash of the Plataleidae, grey-brown in colour with metallic purple on the wings, and characterised by its loud, harsh call. Also attributive.
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