Tawny Frogmouth
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The tawny frogmouth, Podargus strigoides, is an Australian variety of frogmouth found throughout the Australian mainland, Tasmania and southern New Guinea.
The tawny frogmouth is often thought to be a species of owl, but they are in fact related to nightjars. They do not have the strong talons (claws) of owls. There are 14 species, or types, of frogmouth. Tawny frogmouths prefer open eucalyptus woodland.
Males and females look alike, and are 35-50 cm long.They have yellow eyes and a wide beak topped with a tuft of bristly feathers. They make loud clacking sounds with their beaks and their call sounds like drumbeats.
Owls fly around at night hunting food, but tawny frogmouths generally remain sitting very still on a low perch, and wait for food to come to them. They catch prey with their beaks, and sometimes drop from their perch onto the prey on the ground.
Tawny frogmouths hunt at night and spend the day roosting on a dead log or tree branch close to the tree trunk. Their camouflage is excellent - staying very still and upright, they look just like part of the branch.
The tawny frogmouth feeds on rats, mice, cicadas, beetles, frogs and other small prey. They catch their prey with their beaks rather than with their talons, another way in which they are different from owls.
Tawny frogmouth pairs stay together until one of the pair dies. They breed from August to December. They usually use the same nest each year, and must make repairs to their loose, untidy platforms of sticks. After mating with the male, the female lays two or three eggs onto a lining of green leaves in the nest.
Both male and female take turns sitting on the eggs to incubate them until they hatch about 30 days later. Both parents help feed the chicks.
The chicks move to the edge of the nest and direct their droppings over the edge. About 25 days after hatching, the chicks are ready to leave the nest and lead their own lives.
References
- BirdLife International (2004). [Podargus strigoides]. 2006 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. IUCN 2006. Retrieved on 11 May 2006. Database entry includes justification for why this species is of least concern
External links
- [Australian museum online]
- [Smithsonian National Zoological Park]
- [Tawny frogmouth videos] on the Internet Bird Collection
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