Sumatran frogmouth facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Sumatran frogmouth
Conservation status
Near Threatened (IUCN 3.1)
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Aves
Order:	Caprimulgiformes
Family:	Podargidae
Genus:	Batrachostomus
Species:	B. poliolophus
Binomial name
Batrachostomus poliolophus Hartert, 1892
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The Sumatran frogmouth is a special bird that lives only on the island of Sumatra in Indonesia. It's also called the short-tailed frogmouth or the pale-faced frogmouth. This bird is part of a family called Podargidae, which are known as frogmouths. Sumatran frogmouths are nocturnal, meaning they are active at night.

About the Sumatran Frogmouth

The Sumatran frogmouth has a big, curved beak that looks like an arch. Its beak is light brown or yellowish. Its face has stiff hairs, called bristles, especially on its forehead and near its ears. You can tell this frogmouth apart from others because its tail is much shorter than its wings.

Male and Female Differences

Male and female Sumatran frogmouths look different. This is called being sexually dimorphic.

• Males are mostly dull dark brown. They have some black spots and a collar of white or light cream feathers around their neck. Their belly is a lighter brown with black stripes. They also have cream-colored spots on their throat, which sometimes spread to their chest and belly.
• Females are mostly reddish-brown with faint black stripes. Their belly is usually the same color as their wings. Sometimes, they have white spots on their upper chest and on the larger feathers of their wings. Their neck collar can look different, but it's often similar to the males'.

Sumatran Frogmouth Family Tree

The Sumatran frogmouth is one of twelve different species in its group, called a genus. This genus is named Batrachostomus. The genus Batrachostomus is one of three groups in the frogmouth family, Podargidae.

What's in a Name?

The name Batrachostomus comes from two ancient Greek words: batrakhos, which means "frog," and stoma, which means "mouth." So, it means "frog mouth," which makes sense for these birds! The word poliolophus is also Greek and means "grey crest."

Long ago, another type of frogmouth, the Bornean frogmouth, was thought to be a kind of Sumatran frogmouth. But now, scientists know they are separate species.

Where Sumatran Frogmouths Live

This bird lives in the Barisan mountains on the island of Sumatra. It prefers to live in tropical forests, both in lowlands and on mountains. You can find them at heights from about 600 meters (about 2,000 feet) to 1,200 meters (about 4,000 feet) above sea level.

Sumatran Frogmouth Behavior

Because these birds are rare and active at night, we don't know a lot about their daily lives. Scientists haven't seen them very often.

Vocalizations

The Sumatran frogmouth makes interesting sounds. One call is a wavy whistling sound with 5 to 7 notes that get lower in pitch. Other calls include repeated, shaky "weeeow" sounds and a high-pitched, repeated whistle that sounds like "tsiutsiu." Some people say their calls sound a bit like wheezing or someone with asthma.

Diet

Sumatran frogmouths eat insects. They are known to hunt and eat things like crickets and small beetles.

Reproduction and Life Cycle

Scientists have only seen a few Sumatran frogmouth nests. One description says the nest was very small compared to the size of the adult bird. The birds built their nests using their own soft feathers (called down) and natural materials like lichen or moss.

A female Sumatran frogmouth usually lays only one white, oval-shaped egg. These birds have a generation time of about 7.5 years. This means it takes about 7.5 years for a new generation of frogmouths to grow up and have their own babies.

Threats and Conservation

The Sumatran frogmouth is listed as "Near Threatened" by the IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature). This means they are not in immediate danger, but their numbers are decreasing.

Scientists don't know exactly how many Sumatran frogmouths there are in the world. However, they believe the population is slowly getting smaller. The biggest problem for these birds is habitat loss. This happens when forests in Sumatra are cut down, especially in the lowlands. This deforestation takes away the places where the frogmouths live and find food. Luckily, it's less of a problem in the higher mountain forests where they also live.