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Project Noah Nature School
Dacelo novaeguineae
The Laughing Kookaburra is a large kingfisher native to eastern Australia. It has a large head, prominent brown eyes, and a very large bill. The body is white or cream-colored and the head has a dark brown stripe through each eye. The wings and back are brown with sky blue spots on the shoulders. The tail is rusty reddish-orange with dark brown bars and white tips on the feathers. The bird's call is unmistakable.
Edge of temperate rainforest
Here you can hear the extraordinary call of the Laughing Kookaburra: http://www.freesound.org/people/ERH/soun...
Spotted on Mar 21, 2013
Submitted on Dec 22, 2013
28 Comments (1–25)
Probably April/May for me, as soon as it gets too hot here! Lets keep in touch. It would be fun to meet up in Aus... I'll start out in Melb and work my way up to Brisbane...
I'll be there too. Brisbane mainly and short trip to Sydney area and Melbourne. No firm dates yet but late March likely!
Yes I think so. It's been a few years since I was there and I have things to take care of... banking, new India visa etc.
And a Happy New Year full of laughs too you Pam! Will you be visiting Oz this year?
Hahaha haha... Happy New Year to you Daniele...
Thanks Bhagya Herath! Lauren, yours in the Western Hemisphere are different animals: opossums (order Didelphimorphia), colloquially known as possums which confuses things. True possums (order Diprotodontia,
suborder Phalangeriformes) are native to Australia, New Guinea, and Sulawesi only. Here are the guys from my former house :-)
http://www.projectnoah.org/spottings/631...
beautiful.....
Amazing Daniele, we have lots of Opossums here too, I often see them at night but have never heard them make noises! They often come into the garden when the trees have fruit. I've never seen them on or in the house!
Lauren, the possums are active and feed at night. They usually make their dens in tree hollows and caves but they also like spaces in the roofs of houses, and many houses have a family in their roof. Their vocalizations are quite loud, and you'll hear them running around and grunting and screeching at night. It can be quite a racket!
Wow - what do the possums do at night?
Thank you Rieko and bg11a22!
Lovely series!
Very nice series.
Thanks Lauren! In Brisbane, where I used to live, at this time of year the sun rises at about 4:45 am and they start just before that. Just when the possums have gone to bed and you think you're finally going to get some sleep :-)
Love the laugh! Do they really do that at 4:30 in the morning when it is still dark?
Oh! I would become murderous if they were laughing outside my window at 4:30am!!
Thank you Ava! I love those although I've cursed them more than once at 4:30 am or so :-)
Really nice series.
Glad it made you laugh suzmonk :-)
Thanks for including the recording of the bird's call. Turns out Laughing Kookaburras make me ... laugh!
Thank you Lauren!
Great series Daniele, I would love to hear these!
Thank you Marta!
Beautiful!
Yes, that's more like it! In the early morning they give a full chorus of laughter guaranteed to wake you up. According to Aboriginal legends their dawn chorus was a signal to the sky gods to light the sun.