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BLUE-WINGED KOOKABURRA
Photo: C & D Frith
Australian Tropical Birds
BLUE-WINGED KOOKABURRA
Dacelo leachii 43 cm
Identifying characteristcs:
- Has a large,
cream-white head that is streaked brown.
- It has a brown back and its wings are mostly blue.
- The rump and tail are also blue on the male, but the female has a
reddish-brown barred tail.
- Differences
from Laughing Kookaburra are: blue rump, cream-white head and light eye colour.
Distribution and Habitat:
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In Australia the Blue-winged Kookaburra is
distributed widely in tropical and subtropical eucalypt woodlands.
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It lives in
eucalypt forests and paperbark swamps.
Diet:
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Live on a wide
variety of prey including snakes, lizards, large insects, small mammals, frogs and the
odd small bird.
Additional
Information:
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This species differs from the better known
'Laughing Kookaburra' in having a relatively bigger, more streaked head, and
much more prettier blue areas on the wing.
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The call is not as much a rolling
laugh, but a loud, screaming cackle.
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It essentially lives in the woodlands
across the tropical top of Australia, extending down the east coast into
north-eastern N.S.W.
Script courtesy
of Naturalist Guide Damon Ramsey
Additional Blue-winged
Kookaburra photo
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