Page 81 - Atlas Of The World's Strangest Animals

LAUGHING KOOKABURRA 81

woodlands and scrub, where they spend their days
Laughing kookaburra habitats
perched, in the shade, waiting to swoop down on some
unsuspecting victim. Small mammals, reptiles and insects
are their preferred choices, but they will attack larger
creatures.They even catch snakes.They’re just as fast and
agile in the air as their smaller counterparts but – although
they do occasionally pinch ornamental fish from garden
ponds – they hunt on land, rather than water.
Like many hunters, they’ll take easy pickings.They will
accept food offered to them by people.And food prepared
for a barbecue is an easy steal – they’ll even dare to take it
from the hot grill.

Comparisons

The iridescent plumage of the blue-winged kookaburra (Dacelo
leachii) brings to mind the dramatic rainbow-hued common kingfisher
(Alcedo atthis), which is so popular throughout Eurasia. In comparison,
the laughing kookaburra seems like the poor relation of the family –
with its ‘work-a-day’ brown and white plumage.Yet, in the flesh, both
be!’And the bird itself was one of the mascots for the birds are undeniably impressive.The blue-winged kookaburras are
Sydney Olympics in 2000. more widespread, but in eastern Australia their ranges overlap.

Curious kingfishers
For many years, these appealing birds were known as
‘laughing jackasses’ or ‘giant kingfishers’.They’re now
much more commonly referred to by their Aboriginal
name – the kookaburra.
These elegantly proportioned hunters belong to
the kingfisher family Halcyonidae, which includes about
61 species. In common with most members of this family,
laughing kookaburras have a distinctive shape.Their bodies Blue-winged kookaburra
are relatively compact, with a large head and truncated tail.
Wings are short and bills are long and sharp, although
kookaburras have a much broader bill than the usual
dagger-like kingfisher design.Their plumage is also quite
plain, with none of the shimmering greens, blues and
oranges that many other species favour.
What they lack in dress sense, however, they more
than make up for in physical presence. Laughing
kookaburras are the largest species of kingfisher and are,
proportionately, bulkier and heavier then river or tree
kingfishers. Compared to the laughing kookaburra, the
common kingfisher (Alcedo atthis) is almost three times
smaller, with a body length of just 16cm (6.3in).
Laughing kookaburra
Species like Alcedo atthis are famously skilled hunters.
Thanks to their streamlined shape. they are able to dive
into water and pluck fish from their own element with
relative ease. It’s because of this behaviour that they were
given the descriptive epithet,‘king fishers’. Kookaburras,
though, are ‘generalists’.They make their homes in

(c) 2011 Marshall Cavendish. All Rights Reserved.