Are best known for their unmistakable call, which is uncannily like loud, echoing human laughter good-natured, if rather hysterical, merriment in the case of the well-known laughing Kookaburra. A well known Australian Icon that are seen around most parts of Australia. They can be found in habitats ranging from humid forest to arid savanna, but also in suburban and residential areas near running water and where food can be found easily.
These stunning birds are so perfectly camouflaged during the day that they can easily go un noticed. To avoid detection during the day, they sit upright, completely motionless on branches in trees, with their heads tilted up and eyes closed to slits. Their plumage is finely streaked and mottled in grey and brown, and in this posture the birds look just like broken branches. If a frogmouth is disturbed, it may adopt a threatening pose, fluffing out its feathers, showing its wide orange eyes and opening its beak in a wide froglike gape to reveal its yellow throat, hoping to appear intimidating.
The masked owl is a very beautiful creature. The eyes are black eyes inside a round, dark-bordered face mask which is a dark chestnut colour. The back is dark brown with fawn patches and white flecks, while the undersides are buff coloured with dark spots. They are distributed around coastal Australia within a few hundred kilometres of the sea. In Tasmania where there are no other large owls, masked owls are the biggest and darkest of all. The masked owl eats small mammals, reptiles and occasionally birds. Due to its larger size, the Tasmanian race feeds regularly on rabbits.
The Boobook Owl does not posses the distinctive facial mask of the Barn or Masked Owls. Boobooks are the smallest of the Australian owl species. The Boobook is found in areas from rainforest to desert and it's distinctive "boo-book" or "more-pork" call can even be heard out on the boats at anchor. |
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Australian Kookaburra |
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Tawny Frog Mouth Owl |
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Masked Owl |
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Boobook Owl |
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