Class:
Aves
Order:
Coraciiformes
Scientific Name:
Dacelo novaeguineae
Range:
Australia
Habitat:
Open forests, arid areas, parks, gardens
Diet:
Wild: Snakes, lizards, insects, crabs, eggs, nestlings.
Zoo: Insectivorous diet, strips of heart, liver, fish.
Gestation:
Inubation: 19 to 20 days.
Litter:
6-7 eggs
Description:
Size and Weight: 16-18 inches, 3/4 lb., bill 2.5 inches. The giant kingfisher, or laughing kookaburra, is actually the worlds largest kingfisher though it has taken to dry land and forests, forsaking a fish diet. Their wings are small for the birds body size and flights of a few hundred feet are usually its limit. Its legs are short as are those of all kingfishers. Vision and hearing are very keen. The very heavy, wedge-shaped bill facilitates snake and lizard hunting. Prey is swallowed whole.Of course it is their laugh that makes these birds so remarkable. So eerie is this sound that Hollywood producers have put the call in jungle scenes all the way from Brazil to Borneo. The name 'Kookaburra,' as may be surmised, is an onomatopoeic Aboriginal name. Another interesting feature about this bird concerns incubation of the eggs. Not only do both parents participate, but the whole family, brothers and sisters as well. The appetite of the chicks is remarkable. One baby kookaburra was observed to consume, within 6 weeks, 992 grasshoppers, 65 small lizards, 29 moths, and an assortment of dragonflies, crickets, and food scraps.
Where in the Zoo?
I can be found in the following locations at Cleveland Metroparks Zoo:
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