General Information
The Blue-winged Kookaburra is one of the smaller species of kookaburras. The call is the same as the traditional kookaburra song; it is loud, maniacal and ends abruptly. Morning and evening songs by the family group announce their territory.
Physical Description
Around 40 cm long, this bird has a light-colored eye, no dark eye-mask, and more blue wing feathers than other species in its genus. It has a heavy, large bill, which is dark on top and an off-white head that is finely streaked with dark brown. The male has a bright blue tail, and the female a bares a rufous tail
Diet
The Blue-winged Kookaburra feeds mainly on insects and reptiles, or frogs when they are abundant. It lives, however, on a wide variety of prey including snakes, lizards, large insects, small mammals and the odd small bird.
Habitat
The Blue-winged Kookaburra is distributed from southern New Guinea and the moister parts of northern Australia, to southern Queensland across the Top End, and as far down the Western Australian coast as the Shark Bay area. Lives in eucalypt forests and swamps.
Reproduction
The kookaburra breeds August to January, nesting in an unlined chamber in tree hollows or tree-termite nests. The eggs are whitish and rounded, and the female will normally lay 1-4 eggs at a time. The incubation period is 23-25 days with the young flying just 10 days later.
