When they are alarmed, they can raise their crest.
They can be quite confiding, allowing a close approach.
Sunday, January 10, 2010
Laughing Kookaburra
We are in the middle of our 1st heatwave for 2010. Today the forecast is for a high of 43C (109F). Much too hot to go birding.
So I have pulled some more images from the archive. We have a number of iconic birds in Australia, and one that most visitors want to see is the Kookaburra. There are two Kookaburras in Australia. Blue-winged from Far North Queensland and the Northern Territory, and Laughing Kookaburra from the Eastern states round to South Australia. They are a member of the kingfisher family, but are not tied to water as they do not catch fish. They will drop from a perch, catching reptiles, insects and small birds.
These photos are all of Laughing Kookaburra. Generally you will first hear their laughing calls, or spot them flying through open woodland. They will perch openly in ones and twos.
When they are alarmed, they can raise their crest.
They can be quite confiding, allowing a close approach.
When they are alarmed, they can raise their crest.
They can be quite confiding, allowing a close approach.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Beautiful images of this iconic bird Tony,they are all great. Thanks for sharing.
ReplyDeleteFantastic top notch,loved each image.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Monts.
Fab Tony.
Great shots. I really like the ones with the raised crest; really brings out the kingfisher in them. Thanks for putting you rainbow lorikeets photo on the side. One of my all time favorite photos. :-)
ReplyDeleteHi Monty. Thanks Mate. Glad you liked them.
ReplyDeleteHi john. Glad you enjoyed them.
Hi Wilma. no worries, I hadn't thought of keeping it on the blog. Thanks for the idea!!
Hi Tony, you brought back wonderful memories with this post of Kenny the Kookaburra at Kingfisher Park (we called him Kenny) (-: They're so photographable arn't they! Thanks!
ReplyDeleteHi Jen. Thanks. You'll have to come over and get re-aquainted.
ReplyDeletewow nice pictures of an incredible creature! ciao!!!
ReplyDeleteAs a child we learned the Kookaburra song, but had no real reference and I always had questions. Why was he laughing? What was he doing in a bush (as opposed to "the Bush") and was there a land that had trees that made gum (i.e. candy)? Yah, that's why the Kookaburra was laughing! Love this bird and these shots are way cool, Mate.
ReplyDeleteHi c-n-g, thanks for stopping by. glad you like my photos
ReplyDeleteG'day steve, I think he's just laughing 'cos he lives here!! Thanks for looking in again.
Hi Tony, My name is Sharyn & I have just moved to Eatons Hill & I am hand feeding 11 Laughing Kookaburras. They come & call me if I don't see them 1st. Yesterday I was on my son's deck & they came to the trees there & then flew into the trees in my place waiting for me. They are so beautiful. We are going to try & video them.
ReplyDeleteHi Sharyn, that's great. To get 11 together!! Wow. The most I have seen is 5.
ReplyDeleteHi Tony, I had the greatest experience yesterday. They came, they called and I went to feed them and after a while they all started to sing, or laugh, whatever. All together all around me. The noise was deafening, but wonderful. My son could hear them over in his house above the cricket he was watching on TV. I am doing battle with 3 magpies at the moment, they come too. I try to throw them food in an opposite direction to keep them away from the Kookaburras. There were 2 other species of small birds that got in on the act as well. Its fabulous!
ReplyDelete