Kookaburras: Characteristics, Laughing, Behavior, Species, Reproduction | Sea Life, Islands and Oceania

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KOOKABURRAS

spangled kookaburra

A famous Australian song written by Marion Sinclair in 1932 goes:
“Kookaburra sits on an old gum tree
Merry, merry king of the bush is he.
Laugh, kookaburra, laugh
Kookaburra
Gay your must be”.

Kookaburras (pronounced KU-kuh-buh-ruhz) are terrestrial tree kingfishers of the genus Dacelo native to Australia and New Guinea. They range in length from 28 and 47 centimeters (11 and 19 inches) in length and weigh around 300 grams (11 ounces). The name is derived from from guuguubarra, a word based on the bird’s distinctive call in Wiradjuri, the traditional language of the Wiradjuri Aboriginal people of New South Wales, The loud, distinctive call of the laughing kookaburra is widely used in television and films to invoke an Australian bush setting or tropical jungle.

Kookaburras are found in habitats ranging from humid forest to arid savannah, as well as in suburban areas with tall trees or near running water. Though they are "kingfishers", which generally hang out near water, kookaburras are not closely associated with water. They can become quite tame and sometimes enter houses on search of food. Kookaburras have a smile like a dolphin and in Australia live in eucalyptus forests.

Kookaburra Species

There are five species of kookaburra. They can be found in Australia, New Guinea, and the Aru Islands. All are classified as species of “Least Concern” On the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List.

range of the spangled kookaburra in southern New Guinea and the Aru Islands

Shovel-billed kookaburra (Dacelo rex) live upland New Guinea. They are 33 centimeters (13 inches) long.

Spangled kookaburra (Dacelo tyro) are found in the Aru Islands, southern New Guinea. They are 33 centimeters (13 inches) long. There are two subspecies: D. t. archboldi and D. t. tyro.

Rufous-bellied kookaburra (Dacelo gaudichaud) occur in lowland New Guinea.

Laughing kookaburra (Dacelo novaeguineae) are native to eastern Australia and have been introduced to Tasmania. There are two subspecies: D. n. novaeguineae and D. n. minor.

Blue-winged kookaburra (Dacelo leachii) live in northern Australia and southern New Guinea. In Australia blue-winged kookaburras are found primarily in the Northern Territory.

Kookaburra Behavior, Diet, Reproduction and Young

Kookaburras are almost exclusively carnivorous, eating lizards, snakes, frogs, mice and other small rodents and mammals, and the young of other birds. Unlike other kingfishers they feed on land animals rather freshwater animals. Kookaburras hunt during the day and use the same diving method of snatching prey on land that other kingfishers use in rivers. Unlike many other kingfishers, kookaburras rarely eat fish, although they have been known to take goldfish from garden ponds. Although most birds accept handouts and take meat from barbecues, feeding kookaburras ground beef or pet food is not advised, because they do not include enough calcium and roughage.

Shovel-billed kookaburra by John Gould (before 1881)

Most species of kookaburras tend to live in family units, with offspring helping the parents hunt and care for the next generation of offspring. Kookaburras are territorial, except for rufous-bellied, which often live with their young from the previous season. They often sing as a chorus to mark their territory. Kookaburras are often seen waiting for their prey on powerlines or low tree branches. When they see their prey they dive down and grab them with their strong beak. If the prey is small it will be eaten whole, but if the prey is larger then kookaburras bash it against a tree or the ground to make it softer and easier to eat.

Kookaburras tend to breed in termite mounds. Rufous-bellied kookaburras breed from May to October, though the young do not disperse fully until February, and pairs have not been known to attempt a second brood in one year. Two white eggs are laid. The incubation period for most species is not known. Young fledged kookaburras stay with their parents to help with gathering food for the new broods, and also assist them in defending their feeding territory. They do so. primarily, by sound — that hysterical laugh for which they are famous. The louder the laugh, the better guarded the territory, so young bird join their parents in laughing chouses,

Kookaburras in New Guinea

Shovel-billed kookaburras (Dacelo rex) are also known as shovel-billed kingfishers. These dark brown tree kingfishers are fairly large — approximately 33 centimeters (13 inches) in length — and have a heavy, short, and broad bill that is unique among kingfishers. Their head is dark with a rufous stripe behind the eyes, brown irises, and brownish-black bill with paler mandible. They have a white throat, a rufous neck collar and underparts , a bright blue rump and pale feet. Both sexes are similar in appearance, but are easily recognized from the colour of the tail. The male has a dark bluish tail while female's is rufous. The juvenile has a female-like plumage with scale-patterned feathers. Shovel-billed kookaburras primarily occur in hill forests, up to 2400 meters (7850 feet) and feed mainly of earthworms, snails, beetles, lizards, and insects kookaburra that they forage in mud or on moist ground. They are widespread but uncommon and rarely throughout a large part of New Guinea. [Source: Wikipedia]

Rufous-bellied kookaburra

Spangled Kookaburra (Dacelo tyro) are also called Aru giant kingfisher. Of the two subspecies are recognised: 1) D. t. tyro is found on the Aru Islands of Indonesia; and 2) D. t. archboldi lives in the Trans-Fly savanna and grasslands of southern New Guinea. The spangled kookaburra grows to 33 centimeters (13 inches) in length, with females growing slightly larger than males. They have bright blue wings and tail, a white chest and belly, dark eyes, and a black head with white spots. The upper mandible is dark grey whilst the lower mandible is white. There no sexual dimorphism other than size. Males and females look alike.

Rufous-bellied kookaburras (Dacelo gaudichaud) were originally known as Gaudichaud's kookaburra after French botanist Charles Gaudichaud-Beaupré. Widely distributed throughout the forests of lowland New Guinea, they have have black cap, blue-tinged wings, and a pale and rufous belly and tail feathers. Their white bill distinguishes them very clearly from other kookaburras which have black bills. Rufous-bellied kookaburras are smaller than other kookaburra species. They weigh approximately 143 grams (5.0 ouces) and are about 28 centimeters (11.0 inches) in length. Bu contrast laughing kookaburras weigh 335 grams (11.8 ounces) and are 46 centimeters (18.1 inches) long. Despite this major, rufous-bellied kookaburras are known to form (infertile) hybrids with all other kookaburra species.

Rufous-bellied kookaburras are unusual among kookaburra in that they occupy dense rainforests (as opposed to the open country preferred by other kookaburras) and do not live in cooperative breeding family groups. They are generally solitary except pair when breeding and mothers with yoing. Rufous-bellied kookaburras tend to be found in the middle story of the tropical rainforest, where they fly out directly and swiftly from their perch to seize large insects from trees. Despite their direct flight path, they are capable of very sharp twists and turns around the dense trees that form their habitat. They occasionally hunt small vertebrates, but do so less frequently than the larger woodland kookaburras, and frequently are mobbed by smaller birds when they prey on their eggs or nestlings. Males are very aggressive in defending their territories, which average 2 to 2.5 hectares (4.9 to 6.2 acres) in size, and sometimes fight intruders violently.

Laughing Kookaburras

laughing kookaburra

Laughing kookaburras (Dacelo novaeguineae) are kingfishers with a lilting laugh. Found mainly in coastal eastern Australia, they are the largest members of the kingfisher family. Their cackling laugh is commonly heard around sunset. During the day they hunt frogs, lizards, snakes, mice and other small mammals. Their nicknames include great brown kingfishers and laughing jackasss. Another scientific name that has been used is Dacelo gigas. [Source: Laura Sholtis, Animal Diversity Web (ADW) |=|]

Laughing kookaburras are native to eastern and southeastern Australia and have been introduced to Western Australia, Tasmania and parts of New Zealand. They live in medium to dense woodland areas that are typically wet and cold. They like leafy trees sometimes near inland water and are not migratory and occupy dry eucalypt forest, woodland, city parks and gardens. Of the two laughing kookaburra subspecies, 1) the nominate one D. n. novaeguineae (Hermann, 1783) lives in east Australia and was introduced to , Tasmania and southwest Australia, and 2) D. n. minor Robinson, occupies the Cape York Peninsula of Queensland south to Cooktown. D. n. minor has a similar plumage to the nominate but is smaller in size.

Laughing kookaburra are common sights in their range in Australia. On the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List, they are classified as a species of “Least Concern”. They have traditionally been welcomed for helping to reduce insect populations and feeding on snakes. But at the same time are regarded as pests for stealing food. They were once hunted for their skin.

Laughing Kookaburra Characteristics and Diet

Laughing kookaburras are largest kingfisher — bigger than the giant kingfisher in body weight. They are stout, stocky birds, measuring 41 to 47 centimeters (16–19 inches) in length, with large ones almost reaching a half kilogram (1.1 pounds) in weight.The sexes are very similar, although females are usually larger and have less blue to the rump than males. The male weighs 196–450 grams (6.9–15.9 oz) and females weigh 190–465 grams (6.7–16.4 ounces) [Source: Wikipedia, Laura Sholtis, Animal Diversity Web (ADW) |=|]

laughing kookaburra range

Laughing kookaburras have a large square head, with brown cheek patches on their face, prominent brown eyes, and a long, robust “dagger-like” bill that is black on top and bone-colored on the bottom. These birds have a white or cream-colored body and dark brown stripes across each eye and more faintly over the top of the head. The wings and back are brown with sky blue spots on the shoulders. The tail is rusty reddish-orange with dark brown bars and white tips on the feathers. Laughing kookaburra can be distinguished from similarly sized blue-winged kookaburras by their dark eyes, dark eye-stripes, shorter bill and smaller and duller blue areas on the wing and rump. Male blue-winged kookaburras also differ in having a barred blue and black tail.[6]

Laughing kookaburras feed on a wide variety of small animals:snakes, large lizards, worms, snails, insects, fresh water crayfish, frogs, small birds, mice and rodents. They have a prominent bony ridge in the back of their skull and strong muscles in the neck that aid in killing prey. Laughing kookaburra typically waits perched on a branch until it sees an animal on the ground and then flies down and pounces on its prey. Smaller prey are swallowed whole. Larger prey are bashed against their perch or some other object.

Laughing Kookaburra Behavior

Laughing kookaburras occupy woodland territories in loose family groups and occupy the same well-defined territory all year long. They can be very territorial (defend an area within the home range), Their laughter serves the same purpose as the calls of other birds—to mark territorial borders. [Source: Wikipedia, Laura Sholtis, Animal Diversity Web (ADW) |=|]

Laughing kookaburras tend to congregate in groups of three or more — a breeding pair and their helper ot helpers. These helpers, who are mostly male, assist with the nesting duties and help protect the breeding pair's territory. The breeding pair is always the most dominant with the oldest auxiliary following behind.

Kookaburras are usually peaceful birds, but there are some symbolic aggressive acts present in the territory such as sparring, which results in forming a dominance hierarchy within the family. Sparring is where two birds grasp bills and twist and turn to show an act of strength and dominance. It is ended when the loser has either been thrown off the perch or has given up and flown away. Between the new young, dominance is established in early sparring matches.

Laughing Kookaburra Calls and Laughter

Laughing kookaburras have a unique call that is compared to human laughter. It starts with a low chuckle 'ooo' and then goes into a high 'ha ha ha' and then back into a low chuckle. It is a communal laugh shared with neighbors and can usually be heard in the early morning and early evening. The call can be heard year-round but is most frequent in the few months before the breeding season. Crepuscular (dawn and dusk) chorus songs are important establishing and defining territory. Hearing th full calls of a group of kookaburras is one of the more unique and exhilarating experiences of the Australian bush, something even locals recognized and visitors, unless forewarned, may be shocked by. [Source: Wikipedia; Laura Sholtis, Animal Diversity Web (ADW) |=|]

Laughing kookaburras possess a tracheo-bronchial syrinx, which creates two sources of vibrations so it can produce two frequencies at the same time with multiple harmonics. Their calls are made through a complex sound production system, by forcing air from the lungs into the bronchial tubes. Call-making (laughing) is learned behavior. Breeding pair teach their fledglings to produce the signature laughing call after the young have left the nest. The teaching begins when an adult male sings a short portion of the call and offspring mimic it, usually unsuccessfully at first. The singing lessons tend to last two weeks before the fledgling can properly sing and take part in the dawn and dusk choral songs. [Source: Wikipedia]

Laughing kookaburra laugh starts with a low, hiccuping chuckle. The birds then throws their heads back in raucous laughter, often with several birds laughing together. If a rival tribe is within earshot and replies, the whole family soon gathers to fill the bush with ringing laughter. The laughing chorus has five variable elements: 1) "Kooa"; 2) "Cackle"; 3) "Rolling", a rapidly repeated "oo-oo-oo"; 4) Loud "Ha-ha"; followed by 5) Male's call of "Go-go" or female's call of "Gurgle". Laughing kookaburras have a greater repertoire of calls than other kookaburra species like the Blue-winged kookaburra, which produces two simple types of calls: “barks” and “hiccups”. This large range of calls by laughing kookaburras is expanded through cadencing, intonation, and frequency modulations that allow more detailed information to be conveyed.

Laughing kookaburras have a number of distinctive calls: chuckle, chuck, squawk, soft squawk, cackle, and kooaa. These are used mainly in territorial contexts, when excited or to communicate information only to family members, not to neighbors. Laughing kookaburras typically squawk when nesting, exhibiting submissive behavior, or when fledglings are waiting to be fed. There are calls used to attract and mates, establish and maintain the social hierarchy, declare and defend a territory and express aggression. Calls can reinforce neighbour-kin relations by members of a group in a particular territory. Duetting calls requires high levels of cooperation within the group. It has been hypothesized that these duet strengthen the main long-term pair bond and may have evolved as a mechanism to solidify the group's bonds. Neighbouring groups exhibit degrees of cooperation since chorus songs between neighbours are delivered without any overlap, alternating between groups.

Laughing Kookaburra Mating, Reproduction and Offspring

Laughing kookaburras monogamous, often staying with same partner for life. A breeding pair can be accompanied by up to five fully grown non-breeding offspring from previous years that help the parents defend their territory and raise their young. During mating season, laughing kookaburras females adopt a begging posture and vocalize like a young bird. Males offer their mates their current catch accompanied with an "oo oo oo" sound. However, some observers maintain that the opposite happens — females approach their male mate with her current catch and offer it to them. Nest-building tends to start in August with a peak of egg-laying from September to November. If the first clutch fails, they will continue breeding into the summer months. [Source: Wikipedia]

Blue-winged kookaburras

Laughing kookaburra generally breed and nest in unlined tree holes, or in excavated holes in arboreal termite nests. Female usually lay a clutch is three white eggs. The parents and the helpers incubate the eggs and feed the chicks. The youngest of the three nestlings or chicks is often killed by the older siblings. When the chicks fledge they continue to be fed by the group for six to ten weeks until they are able to forage independently. [Source: Wikipedia]

Laughing kookaburra nests are sometimes 10 meters (33 feet) high in the air in a hole in a mountain gum tree. Females typically lay each of their eggs a day apart. The incubation period lasts 24 to 26 days. When hatched, chicks are naked and blind, but very large. Their beaks are black but are bone color by three months of age. Also, plumage of hatchlings tends but lightens in the first six months. Sexual maturity and adulthood are reached at one year of age. Helpers are are typically young who were born the previous year. [Source: Laura Sholtis, Animal Diversity Web (ADW) |=|]

Blue-Winged Kookaburras

Blue-winged kookaburras (Dacelo leachii) are a large species of kingfisher native to northern Australia and southern New Guinea. Adults measures around 38 to 42 centimeters (15 to 17 inches) in length and weigh 260 to 330 grams (9.2 to 11.6 ounces). They smaller than their relatives laughing kookaburras are lack a dark mask, has more blue in their wings, plus striking white eyes. Blue-winged kookaburras have a heavier bill than laughing kookaburras. The head and underparts are cream-coloured with brownish streaks. Sexual Dimorphism (differences between males and females) is present: Males have a blue tail and females have a rufous tail with blackish bars. Immature birds have more prominent brown bars and marks in their plumage, giving them a "dirty" appearance, and their eyes are predominantly brown for the first two years of life.

Blue-winged kookaburras are classified as species of least concern on the IUCN Red List. Family groups of up to 12 individuals are found in open savannah woodland and Melaleuca swamps, as well as farmlands such as sugarcane plantations. In northern Australia, these birds are found from Brisbane in southern Queensland in the east, across the Top End, and as far down the Western Australian coast as the Shark Bay area.

range of the blue-winged kookaburra

The calls of Blue-winged kookaburras have been described as a maniacal cackling or barking. The repertoire of vocalizations of these birds is not as large and nuanced as that of laughing kookaburras.
Blue-winged kookaburras hunt and eats a great variety of animals that live on or close to the ground. In the summer wet season, insects, lizards and frogs make up a higher proportion of their diet, while they eat arthropods such as crayfish, scorpions, spiders, fish, earthworms, small birds and rodents predominate at other times. They have even been observed waiting for and snatching insects flushed out by bushfires.

Blue-winged kookaburra are a co-operative breeder, with a group being made up of a breeding pair and one or more helper birds that help raise the young. Breeding occurs once a year in late spring (September to December). The nest is a hollow high up in a tree, often around 25 meters (82 feet) above the ground. Three or four white, slightly shiny eggs, measuring 4,4-×-3.5 centimeters (1.7-×-1.4 inches) are laid. Females incubate the eggs around 26 days, and nestlings spend another 36 days in the nest before fledging. Chicks are born pink, blind, and naked and break their way out of the egg with an egg tooth on the bill. Feathers appear by 7 days and their eyes open from the 10th day onwards. Kookaburra hatchlings are often highly aggressive in the first week of life, and the youngest chick is often killed by the older chicks during this period. Once fledged, juvenile birds are taught how to hunt by their parents for a further 6–10 weeks before they can properly fend for themselves.

Kookaburras and Popular Culture

The distinctive sound of the laughing kookaburra's call has become a symbol of Australia and is widely used in film and television to help conjure up an Australia bush atmosphere. Disney has used it in theme-park attractions to set the mood for jungle settings in , regardless in Africa and Amazon. Kookaburras have also appeared in several video games, including (Lineage II, Battletoads, and World of Warcraft) and the children's television series Splatalot!. Olly the Kookaburra was one of the three mascots chosen for the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney.

A kookaburra nicknamed "Jacko" was for many years used as the morning opening theme by ABC radio stations, and for Radio Australia's overseas broadcasts.The opening theme from ABC was the basis for a children's book by Brooke Nicholls titled Jacko, the Broadcasting Kookaburra — His Life and Adventures. In William Arden's 1969 book, The Mystery of the Laughing Shadow (one of the Three Investigators series for young readers), the laughing kookaburra is integral to the plot. "Kookaburra [sits in the old gum tree]" is a well-known children's song written in 1932 by Marion Sinclair.

Olly the kookaburra (left), Syd the platypus and Millie the echidna — mascots of the 2000 Olympics in Sydney — named after the short term for Olympics, Sydney and Millennium

The call of a kookaburra was heard in some of the early Johnny Weissmuller Tarzan films, including “Tarzan and the Green Goddess” (1938), as well as in “The Wizard of Oz” (1939), “The Treasure of the Sierra Madre” (1948), “Swiss Family Robinson” (1960), “Cape Fear” (1962), and “The Lost World: Jurassic Park”. The dolphin call in the television series Flipper (1964-7) is a modified kookaburra call.

Kookaburras have appeared on a number of Australian postage stamps and coins and was featured multiple times on the Australian twenty-dollar note. The Australian 12-meter yacht Kookaburra III lost the America's Cup in 1987. The Australia men's national field hockey team, which were world champions in 1986, 2010 and 2014, were nicknamed the kookaburras.

Image Sources: Wikimedia Commons

Text Sources: Animal Diversity Web animaldiversity.org , National Geographic, Live Science, Natural History magazine, Australian Museum, David Attenborough books, Australia Geographic, New York Times, Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, Smithsonian magazine, Discover magazine, The Conversation, The New Yorker, Time, BBC, CNN, Reuters, Associated Press, AFP, Lonely Planet Guides, Wikipedia, The Guardian, Top Secret Animal Attack Files website and various books and other publications.

Last updated August 2025