Kookaburras are the
largest
kingfishers in Australia.
Many kingfishers are,
exactly as the name suggests, kings when it comes
to fishing.
They are known to live near creeks or streams in forests,
and dive into the water to catch fish. But as with all rules there are
exceptions, and Australian kookaburra, the world’s largest kingfisher,
does not fish often at all, and it doesn’t live near water streams but
in open forest and woodland.
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There are two species of them in Australia. Laughing Kookaburra (Dacelo
novaeguineae) is
a large bird, 45cm long, with a white head and belly, a large strong
beak
and a brown back which camouflages it on the forest ground,
particularly
from above because its predators are large birds
of prey. Their laughing “koo-koo-ka-ka-kook”
call makes them
unique even amongst the other birds in Australia.
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The other species is the Blue Winged Kookaburra
(Dacelo
leachii),
which is smaller, has a blue tail and
wings, and a larger beak. Their ranges also vary: The laughing species
is found in the eastern Australia including Tasmania
while the blue-winged species is found
in northern Australia. In Queensland
their ranges overlap and both species
are present. Both species have been introduced to Western
Australia where they are considered pests.
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Habitat
Kookaburras live in forests and woodlands and the reason for their
large beak is that they eat large invertebrates such as insects,
worms, crustaceans and snails, and also
small vertebrates such as frogs, reptiles, small birds and mammals.
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Territory
They are monogamous birds - they live in family groups and they
are very territorial. The whole family group helps to defend the
territory with their calls. The size of the territory, and the group,
depends on availability of resources such as food – the more resources
there are the smaller the territory and the smaller the group. Large
territories are not favoured because they become hard to defend and
maintain.
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Family Groups
Family groups are also needed for raising young. They breed once
a year. Female lays 1-5 eggs in a tree hollow between September and
January, and the whole group – the female, male, and siblings from
previous years, help to raise the young. The older siblings usually
hang around and help for a few years, then take off to find their own
territories once they are old enough to breed and defend a territory.
Females usually take off earlier than males because it’s easier for
females to find breeding vacancies.
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Other Australian Kingfisher Birds
Other Australian kingfishers include Azure (Alcedo azurea),
Little (Alcedo pusilla), Red-backed (Todiramphus
pyrrhopygia), Forest (Todiramphus macleayii),
Collared (Todiramphus chloris),
Sacred (Todiramphus sanctus),
Yellow-billed (Syma torotoro) and Buff-breasted
Kingfisher (Tanysiptera
sylvia).
They are all smaller than kookaburras, and most often more colourful.
Many species live on fish which they catch diving into forest streams.
Note:
This site uses
British English, which is the English we use in Australia. You will
find words like "traveller", "harbour" and "realise", and they are all
correct in the language used in Australia.
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