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| Common Name: | Laughing kookaburra | Family: | Alcedinidae |
| Latin Name: | Dacelo novaeguineae | Diet: | Carnivore |
| Type: | Bird | Habitat: | Woodlands |
| Native To: | Australasia | Social Unit: | Group |
| IUCN Red List Status: | Least concern |
Laughing kookaburra at Edinburgh Zoo
Here at Edinburgh Zoo we have two laughing kookaburra, a brother and a sister who came to us from Zurich in September 2008. They hatched in July 2007.
Where it can be found at Edinburgh Zoo
Our laughing kookaburra can be found in the east aviaries, just up from the Magic Forest.
Laughing kookaburra in the wild
The laughing kookaburra (Dacelo novaeguineae) is the largest member of the kingfisher family and is found in Australia. They live in the forests and woods of eastern Australia, the south west of Western Australia, Flinders Island, Kangaroo Island and Tasmania. In the 1800's they were introduced to Kawau Island, New Zealand and still thrive there today. Due to ever increasing encroachment by humans onto the laughing kookaburra's territory they are now a common sight in gardens and towns.
As their name suggests, the laughing kookaburra is famous for its laugh. One kookaburra will start and is then joined by members of its family, which then entices different groups of neighbouring kookaburras to join in until the whole area is filled with the sound of “kook-kook-kook-ka-ka-ka". Their laugh can be heard at any time of the day but they are more vocal at dawn and dusk. The purpose of this call is to greet returning family members and to establish territory.
Males and females are similar in appearance; they have large brown eyes and a strong beak which is black on the top and brown underneath. The top of the head, eye patch, back and wings are covered with brown feathers while the face and chest are white. The wings also have small blue feathers leading down from their shoulders.
Laughing kookaburra have a varied diet and feed on amphibians, birds, crabs, fish, insects, lizards, mice, snakes and worms. They hunt their prey by finding a high perch to sit on, which gives them a clear view of the area, and wait for an unsuspecting meal to pass by. Once spotted, the kookaburra swoops down, seizing the prey and flying back to its perch where the kookaburra crushes it with its beak. If it is a much larger meal such as a snake the kookaburra will beat it repeatedly against a tree branch or drop it from a great height until it is dead.
Living in large family groups, older siblings help their parents with the raising of chicks until they leave to find their own mate and territory. The breeding season of the laughing kookaburra is in the Australian spring which begins in October. The female gives a series of calls to attract a male who then puts on a flight display over the tree tops. Kookaburra couples stay together for life.
The male and female construct a nest in a tree hollow, wall hole or in termite mounds which in Australia can be found high up in trees. The female then lays between two to three eggs at two-day intervals. If for some reason the eggs are damaged, the female is able to lay another clutch.
Both parents incubate the eggs for approximately three weeks; if food is scarce then the last egg to be laid is smaller than the previous two which produces a smaller chick. When the chicks hatch they have no feathers and their eyes are shut. The mother and father bring the chicks small insects to eat, but if there is not a lot of food available the chicks fight each other for it and the smallest, weakest of the chicks can be killed by its larger siblings. If food is plentiful, then the chicks are well fed and fight less, allowing the third chick to thrive. The parents also have more time to spend with their young and so break up any fighting.
By the time the chicks are three weeks old, their eyes are open and they stay in the nest until they are a month old after which they begin to leave to explore their surroundings. The youngsters are able to fly once they are a month old but their parents still continue to feed them for several weeks after this until they begin to learn to hunt for themselves. The lifespan of the laughing kookaburra is approximately fifteen years.
IUCN Red List category: Least Concern
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