Laughing kookaburra facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Laughing kookaburra |
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| Conservation status | |
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Dacelo
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| Species: |
novaeguineae
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| Distribution within Australia Dark green: native Light green: introduced |
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| Synonyms | |
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The laughing kookaburra (scientific name: Dacelo novaeguineae) is a large bird from the kingfisher family. It has a white head with a brown stripe over its eyes. Its back is mostly dark brown, with some light blue patches on its wings. The belly is creamy-white, and its tail has rusty-red and black stripes. Both male and female kookaburras look similar.
This bird is famous for its loud, laughing call. Several kookaburras often call together. This sound is so well-known that it's often used in movies to make it sound like a jungle.
Laughing kookaburras are originally from eastern Australia. They have also been brought to parts of New Zealand, Tasmania, and Western Australia. They like to live in dry eucalypt forests, woodlands, city parks, and gardens. These birds stay in the same area all year round.
Kookaburras are monogamous, meaning they stay with the same partner for life. A breeding pair might have up to five grown-up helpers. These helpers are usually their own children from past years. They help the parents protect their territory and raise new chicks.
Laughing kookaburras usually build their nests in holes in trees. Sometimes they dig holes in termite nests found in trees. They typically lay three white eggs. Both parents and their helpers take turns sitting on the eggs and feeding the young birds. Sadly, the youngest chick is often killed by its older siblings. Once the chicks are old enough to leave the nest, the group continues to feed them for six to ten weeks. After this, the young birds can find food on their own.
Kookaburras eat many small animals. They often sit on a branch, waiting to spot prey on the ground. Then they fly down quickly to catch it. Their diet includes lizards, insects, worms, snakes, and mice. They are even known to snatch goldfish from garden ponds!
The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) says the laughing kookaburra is a "species of least concern". This means it has a large population and wide habitat, so it is not currently at risk.
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About the Laughing Kookaburra's Name
The laughing kookaburra was first described in a book in 1776 by a French explorer named Pierre Sonnerat. He thought he saw the bird in New Guinea, but kookaburras don't live there. He probably got a preserved bird from someone who traveled with James Cook to Australia.
For many years, this bird was commonly called the "laughing jackass." This name was first written down in 1798. Another popular name was "laughing kingfisher." The name "kookaburra" comes from the Wiradjuri language, an Aboriginal language. In 1926, "laughing kookaburra" became the official name.
There are four types of kookaburras in the Dacelo family. The rufous-bellied kookaburra and spangled kookaburra live in New Guinea. The blue-winged kookaburra and the laughing kookaburra are common in Australia.
Two main types (subspecies) of laughing kookaburras are known:
- D. n. novaeguineae: Found in eastern Australia, Tasmania, and introduced to southwest Australia.
- D. n. minor: A smaller version, found in the Cape York Peninsula down to Cooktown.
What Does a Laughing Kookaburra Look Like?
The laughing kookaburra is the biggest type of kingfisher. It is a strong, stocky bird, about 41 to 47 centimeters (16 to 18.5 inches) long. It has a large head, big brown eyes, and a long, strong beak.
Males and females look very similar. Females are usually a bit bigger and have less blue on their rump than males. Males weigh about 196 to 450 grams (7 to 16 ounces). Females weigh about 190 to 465 grams (6.7 to 16.4 ounces).
They have a white or cream-colored body and head. A dark brown stripe goes across each eye. Their wings and back are brown with sky-blue spots on the shoulders. The tail is reddish-orange with dark brown stripes and white tips. The top part of their heavy beak is black, and the bottom part is bone-colored. The smaller subspecies, D. n. minor, looks similar but is smaller.
You can tell a laughing kookaburra apart from the blue-winged kookaburra. The laughing kookaburra has dark eyes, a dark eye-stripe, and a shorter beak. Its blue wing and rump patches are also smaller and less bright. Male blue-winged kookaburras also have blue and black stripes on their tails.
Kookaburra Calls
The name "laughing kookaburra" comes from its famous "laugh." This call helps family groups mark their territory. You can hear it at any time, but most often at dawn and dusk.
Kookaburras have a special voice box that lets them make two sounds at once. This creates their complex calls. Young kookaburras learn their song from their parents. The adult male will sing a short part of the call, and the young bird tries to copy it. These singing lessons last about two weeks until the young bird can sing properly.
One bird starts with a low chuckle. Then it throws its head back and laughs loudly. Often, several other kookaburras join in. If a rival group replies, the whole family gathers to fill the area with their ringing laughter. This laughing chorus has five parts: a "Kooa," a "Cackle," a fast "oo-oo-oo" (rolling), a loud "Ha-ha," and then a male's "Go-go" or a female's "Gurgle." Hearing kookaburras laugh is a special sound of the Australian bush.
Kookaburras use their calls to attract mates, keep their social order, and defend their territory. Louder calls often mean they are being aggressive. Calls also help groups know that their neighbors are still in their territory. When groups sing together, it shows they are strong and healthy. Kookaburras call more often 2-3 months before breeding season (September to January) because males become more aggressive then.
Singing together in duets needs a lot of teamwork. It's thought that this helps strengthen the bond between the main breeding pair. It also helps make the group's bonds stronger, as learning a new song takes a lot of energy. Neighboring groups also cooperate; they take turns singing their chorus songs without overlapping.
Other Kookaburra Sounds
Kookaburras also make squawking sounds. They use squawks when they are nesting, showing they are submissive, or when young birds are waiting to be fed. Laughing kookaburras have more types of calls than other kookaburra species, like the Blue-winged kookaburra. This wide range of calls allows them to share more detailed information.
Where Do Kookaburras Live?
The laughing kookaburra is native to eastern Australia. Its range goes from the Cape York Peninsula in the north to Cape Otway in the south. It lives on both sides of the Great Dividing Range. In the south, it spreads west to the Yorke Peninsula and the Flinders Ranges in South Australia.
Kookaburras have been introduced to many other places. This was probably because people thought they were good at killing snakes. For example, in Western Australia, laughing kookaburras were released starting in 1883. Many birds were brought in by a group called the Acclimatization Society. By 1912, they had started breeding in many areas.
In Tasmania, laughing kookaburras were introduced in 1906. They now live mainly in the northeast. They were also brought to Flinders Island around 1940 and Kangaroo Island in 1926.
In the 1860s, some laughing kookaburras were released on Kawau Island in New Zealand. At first, people thought it didn't work. But in 1916, some birds were found on the nearby mainland. Now, they breed in a small area north of Auckland.
Kookaburras usually live in open forests and woodlands. They prefer places where the ground is open or covered with grass. They need tree holes for nesting. You can also find them near wetlands, in partly cleared areas, or on farms with trees along roads. In cities, they live in parks and gardens.
Sometimes, a single laughing kookaburra has been seen living wild in the United Kingdom. This suggests some birds might be accidentally or purposely released there.
Kookaburra Behavior and Life Cycle
Kookaburras live in family groups in their woodland territories. Their laughter helps them mark their borders, just like many other bird calls. Most kookaburra species live in family units. The young birds often stay to help their parents hunt and care for the next generation of chicks.
Reproduction
During mating season, the female kookaburra might act like a young bird begging for food. The male then offers her his latest catch while making a soft "oo oo oo" sound. Some people have seen the opposite happen, where the female offers food to the male.
Nest building can start in August, with most eggs laid from September to November. If the first set of eggs doesn't hatch, they will try to breed again in the summer.
The female usually lays three shiny, white, round eggs. Each egg is about 36 x 45 millimeters (1.4 x 1.8 inches) and laid about two days apart. Both parents and their helpers sit on the eggs for 24–26 days. The chicks are born helpless and stay in the nest until they are 32–40 days old.
If there isn't enough food, the third egg will be smaller. The third chick will also be smaller and weaker than its older siblings. Chicks have a hook on their upper beak, which disappears when they leave the nest. If food is scarce, the chicks will fight, using this hook as a weapon. The smallest chick might even be killed by its older siblings. If there is plenty of food, the parents spend more time keeping the chicks warm, so the chicks don't fight as much.
Feeding Habits
Kookaburras hunt like other kingfishers. They sit on a branch or wire and wait patiently for prey to pass by. They commonly eat mice and other small mammals, many types of invertebrates (like insects, earthworms, and snails), yabbies (freshwater crayfish), small fish, lizards, frogs, small birds, and young birds in nests. They are most famous for eating snakes.
They prefer small prey, but kookaburras sometimes catch large creatures, even venomous snakes much longer than their own bodies. When feeding their young, adult kookaburras make deep, guttural "Chuck calls." These calls are very different from their daily laughing songs.
Visual Displays
Kookaburras also use visual displays to show their territory. They do two types of aerial displays: trapeze and circular flights. In trapeze flights, kookaburras from neighboring groups fly back and forth between trees in their own territory and trees near the border. These flights can last up to half an hour and are usually joined by calls from the birds.
Circular flights start when a kookaburra flies over a neighboring territory. Then it quickly flies into the territory and circles around the other kookaburras there. This usually leads to a laughing call or squawking, depending on how dominant the other kookaburras are. Flight displays are good for communicating over long distances.
Close-up visual signals are used for short-range communication. They can show aggression or warn about threats. Aggressive postures are used as a warning before an attack. Kookaburras will spread their wings and push their head forward while shaking their tail feathers. This shows dominance and warns off intruders. After this, they will chase away the unwanted bird before attacking.
Visual displays also show alertness and the presence of threats. Kookaburras will open their beak, ruffle the feathers on their head, and point their head towards the threat. Depending on how urgent the threat is, these alert postures might be followed by loud, laugh-like calls to warn other birds in the group.
Kookaburras and Humans
Laughing kookaburras are often seen in suburban gardens and cities. They can be quite tame and might even eat food from a person's hand. Sometimes, they will swoop down and snatch food from people without warning. People often feed them raw meat. Laughing kookaburras are also commonly kept in zoos.
The kookaburra is also the subject of a popular Australian children's song. The song, called "Kookaburra", was written by Marion Sinclair in 1934.
Recordings of the kookaburra's call have been used in Hollywood movies for many years. They are often used in jungle scenes, like in the Tarzan movies from the 1930s and in the film The Lost World: Jurassic Park (1997).
Conservation Status
The number of laughing kookaburras in Australia changes depending on the habitat. Some estimates suggest there could be as many as 65 million individuals. However, recent data shows that the number of kookaburra sightings has dropped by 50% from 2000 to 2019. The population in New Zealand is small, likely less than 500 birds.
Even with these changes, the International Union for Conservation of Nature still considers the laughing kookaburra a "species of least concern". This is because it has a very large range and a generally stable population, with no widespread threats.
See also
In Spanish: Cucaburra común para niños
