Laughing Kookaburra

Description:

Laughing Kookaburras, also known as Laughing Jackass, is the largest member of the Kingfisher family. As Birdlife Australia mentions they are "instantly recognisable in both plumage and voice. It is generally off-white below, faintly barred with dark brown, and brown on the back and wings. The tail is more rufous, broadly barred with black. There is a conspicuous dark brown eye-stripe through the face."

Habitat:

This individual was hanging around in the trees looking out for prey down below, at a park in Nanango, QLD. The park has a small creek running parallel-ish to the road which kind of borders it from a private paddock.

Notes:

This little video is really just about watching the tail being raised and lowered while it was scanning around for prey: https://youtu.be/Cw1geWIJjDo I'm not sure why the tail is moved liked this but I found it amusing. Perhaps it is to mimic leaves being blown in the wind... Laughing Kookaburras "get [their] moniker from its manic laughter-like call. And its early dawn and dusk cackling chorus earned it the nickname “bushman’s clock.” (Australian Geographic: https://www.nationalgeographic.com/anima... ) However, this laughter is actually a territorial call, warning other birds in the vicinity to stay away.