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Laughing Kookaburra

Dacelo novaeguineae

Description:

Enjoying the setting sun. Also known as the bushman's clock, laughing jackass and Kookaburra. Grows to 46cm; back, wings, tail brown tones, black markings, russet colour more evident on tail and back, tail barred with black, white underneath on chest, belly, throat and back of neck and back of head and forehead (can appear smudged with brown) brown stripe through eye area from upper mandible of large strong beak, lower beak cream to pinkish. Beautiful iridescent light blue markings on wings, males also have a small blue patch top of tail base. Call is a load raucous laugh and varied chuckle which gives it its common name. A member of the kingfisher family.

Habitat:

Found in eastern Australia and south west of WA from coastline inland, prefers open forest and woodland areas hunting for snakes, lizards, insects, rodents, occasional birds, they are known to raid nests and eat young of other species.

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2 Comments

kdpicturemaker
kdpicturemaker 9 years ago

Thank you Karen. Amazing how much interest this bird attracts because of its laugh.

KarenL
KarenL 9 years ago

The laughing kookaburra gets its name from its raucous call, which sounds like manic laughter. It is the largest member of the Kingfisher family, with females weighing in at up to a pound and growing to 18 inches in length.
Although native to the eucalyptus forests of eastern Australia, the kookaburra has adapted well to urbanization and can often be seen in suburban areas. https://upload.facebook.com/projectnoah/...

kdpicturemaker
Spotted by
kdpicturemaker

Glen Aplin, Queensland, Australia

Spotted on Mar 28, 2013
Submitted on Apr 30, 2014

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