Featured Event

Laughing Kookaburra

Scientific Name: Dacelo novaeguineae

Fast Fact:
The Laughing Kookaburra is best known for its call – a “laughing” sound that sometimes is mistaken for donkeys or monkeys – that can be heard in the early morning and just before dusk.  Their call, or laugh, is known in Australia as the “Bushman’s Clock”.  You’ve even heard their “laughing” call in the movies – as part of the jungle sounds in a lot of the old Tarzan movies.  Their nickname in Australia is the Laughing Jackass!

Listen to the Laughing Kookaburra!

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Laughing KookaburraThe Laughing Kookaburra is the largest of the Kingfishers – 90 species belonging to three families.  The Laughing Kookaburra belongs to the Daceloninae sub-family of the Alcedinidae family because they live in and around the forest areas.

STATUS: Not endangered, however their forest habitat is threatened due to deforestation for human settlement.

HABITAT: Forest edges and clearings, and savanna woodlands in eastern and southern Australia.  This bird has also been introduced into western Australia, Tasmania, and New Zealand.

DIET: Laughing kookaburras are carnivores!  They eat reptiles, crabs, and insects.  They also have a fondness for eggs and nestlings and even small mammals.

PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS: The Laughing Kookaburra is a stocky bird about 18 inches long with a large head, short neck and a very strong and long (2 ½ inches!) beak.  They have a short tail, wings and legs.  The feet are only used for perching, three toes face front and one faces backwards – the  2nd and 3rd toes and the 3rd and 4th toes are partially fused (called syndactyl).  The male and female look the same – upper parts are dark brown, wings are a mottled gray-blue, a white band of feathers around the neck, a dark stripe through the eye, and white on the breast and under the wings, the beak is black on top and a yellowish brown below.  The female is heavier than the male (this is called sexual dimorphism).  Their monochromatic coloring allows the Kookaburra to sit on a branch or stump and blend in with its surroundings (called cryptic coloration).

It's All About Family

Kookaburras mate for life and live in large family groups.  Females nest in tree cavities, termite nests, or burrows and lay 2 – 4 eggs.  Both parents and other members of the family group incubate the eggs for 5 – 6 days and care for the chicks until they fledge at about 5 weeks.  Even though the fledglings try to hunt for themselves when they first leave the nest, Mom and Dad still care for and feed them until they prove they can hunt successfully on their own.

Click here to ADOPT a Laughing Kookaburra!