Kookaburra
Overseas
visitors to the Cairns region, who have never seen or heard a Kookaburra,
are in for a treat if they are here long enough to meet up with some of
these noisy, but relatively friendly local identities.
The Kookaburra belongs to the Kingfisher family, being the largest of the
species.
There are two species of Kookaburra, the Laughing Kookaburra (dacelo
novaeguineae) found only in Australia, and the Blue Winged Kookaburra (dacelo leachii)
found in Australia and Papua New Guinea, and both
frequent the district. However, most common in the area close to the
city is the Laughing Kookaburra, sometimes called the Laughing Jackass.
You are more likely to hear the Kookaburra before seeing it. Early in the
morning, at sunrise, and late in the evening, at sunset, are the most
common times to hear their raucous laughter, although they can be heard
less frequently throughout the day. Their laughter, commonly done in
unison with a mate, serves a couple of purposes, including mating and
establishing their territorial boundaries.
The kookaburra is monogamous, mating with one partner for life, and
normally will also live in its established territory for life. They nest
in hollow tree branches where the female lays three or four blue/green
motley coloured eggs. The chicks hatch in about 25 days, are fully
feathered in four or five weeks and are able to fend for themselves after
eight to ten weeks.
[
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(Article truncated at this point.)
This condensed sample from the article
on the Kookaburra is from the "Fauna" section of
Cairns-on-a-CD. The "Fauna" section
includes approximately 80 such articles.
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