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The laughing Kookaburra is the largest Kingfisher in the world, but this species spends little time near the water. It prefers open forest and woodland. They can be found between Cape York and as far as South Australia. The kookaburra feeds on a variety of creatures, reptiles, insects, frogs , lizards, freshwater tortoises, yabbies and frogs and other small animals, including small birds. They also eat snakes. The beak is very strong and can be used to hold a small snake while it is beaten against a tree.They nest in tree hollows as well as termite mounds and in urban areas, holes in walls are also used. |
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Excellent eyesight allows Kookaburras to spot movement from long distances. The laughing call, which is made at dawn and dusk, indicates ownership or territory, and one group will often answer another. With a variety of calls they can signal each other to come to a source of food or to rally for the defence of a communal territory. This bird is also called the jackass, the great brown kingfisher and the bushmans clock. Males and females look alike. Pairs mate for life, laying 2 or 3 white eggs in a hole in a tree trunk. Unmated birds help the pair feed the chicks. The breeding rate is slow because many birds do not breed at all, but each bird can live up to 25.
Elanora Heights Primary School Computer Co-ordinator : 
Judith Bennett
This page was last modified on 8th November, 1998
