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. Here are some kookaburra pictures, and kookaburra facts about its habitat, enemies and territoriality. Further down on the page is information about other Australian kingfisher birds.
Laughing Kookaburra, and Kookaburra Enemies There are two species of kookaburras in Australia. Laughing Kookaburra (Dacelo novaeguineae) is a large bird, 45cm long, with a white head and belly, large strong beak and brown back which camouflages it on the forest ground, particularly from above because kookaburra’s predators are large birds of prey. Laughing Kookaburras are some of the iconic Australian birds - they are only found in Australia and their laughing “koo-koo-ka-ka-kook” call is what makes camping in Australian bush so special.
Blue Winged Kookaburra - Another Kingfisher Bird The other species of Australian kookaburras is the Blue-winged Kookaburra (Dacelo leachii), which is smaller than the Laughing Kookaburra, has a blue tail and wings, and a larger beak. Their ranges also vary: Laughing Kookaburra is found in eastern Australia including Tasmania while the Blue-winged Kookaburra 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 regarded as pests.
Kookaburra Facts - Kookaburra 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.
Kookaburra Facts - Kookaburras' Territory Kookaburras 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.
Kookaburra Facts - Baby Kookaburra Family groups are also needed for raising young. Kookaburras 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.
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.
Where to See Kingfisher Birds Kookaburras are quite easily seen everywhere, even in urban areas – I have a family of kookaburras living so close that I wake up to their calls every morning. Smaller kingfishers are shyer, and perfect places to see them are around forest streams, where often there are special bird-watching huts, which are great places to watch many species at the same time, and the birds are not chased away because they cannot see you. Good places to see kingfishers are Royal National Park south of Sydney in New South Wales (Laughing Kookaburras), Kakadu National Park in Northern Territory (Blue-winged kookaburras) and Daintree National Park in far north Queensland, and Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park in Northern Territory (other kingfishers).
NOTE: This website is written in 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.
