The Laughing Kookaburra (Dacelo novaeguineae) must be one of the most well known of Australian birds. It is in fact a large Kingfisher - and its genus name, Dacelo, is an anagram of the genus name Alcedo which is applied to the Common or European Kingfisher. This is not a coincidence!
The Laughing Kookaburra can be found all along the east and south east of Australia, It is not found in the dry interior of the continent. It can also be found on south western Western Australia, Tasmania and very limited parts of New Zealand, but in all of these locations the species is not naturally occurring, and has been introduced.
At 41- 47cm long this is not a small bird, and it will comfortably deal with the snakes, lizards, and small birds that comprise its diet. This species will also take worms from leaf litter - and I think that is what (at least in part) this is bird is trying to do.
As you can see it was raining when I took these images, and I assume that the 'wing spreading' may be part of a cleaning behaviour. When the bird was sat with its wings folded it was concentrating intently on the ground, presumably looking for food.
These pictures were taken at Wilsons Promontory National Park in Victory. It's a wonderful place to visit, especially in winter when there are few people there and the wildlife is often more visible.
If you ever happen to be in my part of the world, I would be very happy to so you some of the wonders of Wilsons Prom.
As ever, to link up with WBW click the button below. Hope all is well. SM
I painted this bird once. I love the kooky call.
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