Kookaburra (Dacelo gigas)
Also known as the Laughing jackass, the kookaburra is the largest kingfisher in the world. Native to Australia and New Guinea, their laughter was not liked by early settlers who often thought the birds were laughing at them. However to most people now the sound of a kookaburra is pleasant. They are still common even into suburbs, but generally they prefer open forest country.
Kookaburra are quite common and 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 searched for easily.
They are territorial, and often live with the partly grown chicks of the previous season. They often sing as a chorus to mark their territory.
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In the wild, kookaburras are known to eat the young of other birds and snakes, and insects and small reptiles and even other small birds, such as finches if they are lucky enough to catch them. In zoos, they are usually fed food for birds of prey, and dead baby chicks.
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Geographic Range
They were originally found right along the east coast of Australia, and were introduced to Western Australia in 1898 and are now established in the south west corner of that state. They are also an introduced species in Tasmania.
Laughing Kookaburras are found throughout eastern Australia. They are replaced by the Blue-winged Kookaburra in central northern and north-western Australia, with some overlap in Queensland, although this species is more coastal.
Description
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. It is one of the larger members of the kingfisher family.
Kookaburras are best known for their unmistakable call, which sounds uncannily like loud, echoing human laughter — good-natured, but rather hysterical, merriment in the case of the renowned Laughing Kookaburra (Dacelo novaeguineae); and maniacal cackling in the case of the slightly smaller Blue-winged Kookaburra (D. leachii).
Habitat
They are generally not closely associated with water, and 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 searched for easily.
Food Habits
Kookaburras are carnivorous. They will eat lizards, snakes, insects, mice, other small birds, and raw meat. They have adapted readily to humans, and will eat almost everything. They will steal a sausage from a BBQ, and will take other food. In the bush they eat small lizards and snakes and will attack quite large ones.. They also raid the nests of smaller birds and these will annoy kookaburras by flying at them for long periods of time.
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