Laughing Kookaburra

Description:

The kookaburra is the largest kingfisher. The laughing kookaburra has a short thick body with a very large head with a dark eye streak. Their colourings are mainly brown with black markings on top with a creamy whit underbelly and head, and "mottled" blue patch on their wings. They are famous for their laughing calls which usually occur at dawn and dusk and is in fact the kookaburra "marking out" its territory

Habitat:

They are found through out eastern Australia from the northern tip of Queensland right down to Tasmania. They have also been introduced to the southern part of Western Australia They frequent open forests and Eucalypt bushland. Like most kingfishers the Laughing kookaburra launches itself from a perch to pounce on its prey They enjoy eating most ground-living insects, as well as mice, lizards and snakes.

Notes:

The Laughing Kookaburras form community groups which together share and defend their home territory. As already mentioned they mark this territory with their calls, but also will physically defend it from other bird species These community groups have a dominate matting pair and other lesser members Laughing kookaburras do not build nests, instead they use existing cavities in trees or again sometimes a tree-termite mound.