Australian Wildlife Part 2 - Kookaburras

Kookaburras can only be found in Australia.

There are two types: the laughing kookaburra and the blue-winged kookaburra.

The laughing kookaburra is mostly found in the bushlands of Eastern Australia whilst the blue-winged kookaburra is found in mangrove swamps in the Northern Australia.

Kookaburras can live for 20 years or more in the same family groups. They pair for life and build their nest in a hole of their favourite tree.

An adult female kookaburra becomes sexually mature at one year, and will lay between one and six blue-green blotched eggs in a season with an average of four eggs to a nest. The eggs are kept warm for 25 days before they hatch.

The babies are fed by both the mother and father, and stay with their parents for four years.

Kookaburras have good eyesight and are fierce hunters. Their favourite foods are lizards and snakes but it also eats insects, earthworms, fish, frogs and toads, mice, rats and other rodents. They kill their prey by beating it against a rock, then pound it with their beak to soften the meat making is easier to eat.

The kookaburra eats its prey whole sometimes having to rest for lengths of time waiting for the first half of the animal to be digested so the second half can be swallowed. The Kookaburra can then regurgitate food and store it in the nest for future meals. The laughing kookaburra, also known as the laughing jackass, is the largest member of the kingfisher family. It got its name from its distinctive laugh, and can be heard at sunrise and at sunset.

They have about six different calls, each signalling something different to the family or intruders.

It is mostly coloured brown with some black barring on its wing and tail feathers. The fluffy head and chest are a whitey-grey colour. A small amount of bright blue can be seen on its wings.

The blue-winged kookaburra is smaller than its cousin the laughing kookaburra.

It lives in the mangrove swamps of Northern Australia and has a preference for aquatic food such as fish, freshwater crayfish, frogs, waterworms and small crabs.

It has a call like a barking cough.

The head and chest are fluffy and covered with light coloured feathers, the rump and wings are coloured bright blue and it has some brown feathers above its dark blue tail.