Giant wood kingfisher

The giant Wood kingfisher or will kookaburra ( Dacelo novaeguineae ) is a bird of Australia of the family of the alcédinidés (subfamily of the halcyoninés having temporarily constituted the family of the dacélonidés ).

Mythical bird in the culture indigenous, its song resembles a raucous laughter.

Description

It is beautiful a 45 cm length squat bird with a famous person, a maroon eye covering and a very large pointed nozzle.

The male is distinguished easily from the female by the blue ones from the wings and the dark blue of the tail.

The female has a little light blue on the wings but does not have blue on the tail.

Distribution and habitat

One finds it in all the part is of Australia and it was introduced at present into the south-west of the Australia Occidentale, in Tasmanie, in the islands Flinders and Kangaroo Island.

A certain number of them were introduced in New Zealand between 1866 and 1880 but only those which were released in the island Kawau by sir George Grey survived. One still finds descendants of them at present.

He lives in all the wooded areas where he can find near the zones cleared to be able to drive out. It does not fear the proximity of the man.

Food

Like all the martins-hunters, it is nourished while patiently waiting for installed on a branch that a prey passes in the vicinity to precipitate above: he thus eats mouse and other small similar mammals, large insects, lizards, small birds and oisillons, and, especially snakes. He attacks preferably preys smaller than him but it is not rare in particular that it attacks by surprised animals definitely larger than him, of the poisonous snakes. The smallest preys are swallowed alive, the larger preys are initially killed by highly striking them the ground.

Reproduction

The season of the loves is at the beginning of the summer (October, November). The couples are faithful and brood and deal with small to two.

The female generally lays an egg every two days and brooded is generally of three eggs. The small ones have a hook on the upper part of the nozzle which will disappear into growing old but this harpoon can be used in engagements enters oisillons if food is not sufficient. Most fragile of let us oisillons can thus be killed by his/her brothers and sisters.

On the other hand, one can see oisillons them the brooded preceding ones to help their parents to drive out and nourish their younger brothers and sisters.

Anecdote

In films of Tarzan with Johnny Weissmuller, the Bruiteur S of the realization of the time made use of cries of will kookaburras. It is an aberration, because the action of Tarzan occurs in Africa whereas kookaburra it is Australian.

Cartoon

Kookaburra is a series of cartoon of science fiction carried out by Crisse, with the editions Sun.

See too

Kingfisher of Europe

External bonds

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