The Laughing Kookaburra (Dacelo novaeguineae novaeguineae) is the largest Australian kingfisher.

The Laughing Kookaburra is a stocky bird. It has a brown back, and brown wings with a blue patch. It has white underparts barred with dark-brown. Its tail is rufous (red-brown) with black bars. It has a white head with a broad, dark-brown eye stripe, and large brown eyes with a white eye-ring. It has a large beak that is black on top and bone-coloured on the bottom. It has pale bone-coloured legs.

 

It measures 40-45 centimetres (16-18 inches).

It has a distinctive loud laugh.

It is native to the eastern part of Australia. It inhabits dry, eucalyptus forests and woodlands. It eats lizards, insects, worms, mice, and snakes.

The Laughing Kookaburra has the same partner for life. It makes it nest in holes in trees or in termite mounds. Females usually lay 3 white eggs. Both parents sit on the eggs and feed the chicks when they hatch. The older chicks often kill the youngest chick.

Photographer: Martina Nicolls

Martina Nicolls: SIMILAR BUT DIFFERENT IN THE ANIMAL KINGDOM