13

Papuan Frogmouth (Podargus papuensis) Alternate name(s): "Large Frogmouth", "Plumed Frogmouth*" Size: 45-60 cm; wing span: 75-80 cm Body mass: 390-415 g (male), 315-340 g (female) Wing loading [g/cm2]: 0.22-0.26

Australia: Family Group 13 Family Group 13 Table Oriental Cuckoo Pallid Cuckoo Brush Cuckoo Black-eared Cuckoo Chestnut-breasted Cuckoo Fan-tailed Cuckoo Horsefield's Bronze-Cuckoo Shining Bronze-Cuckoo Little Bronze-Cuckoo Australian Koel Channel-billed Cuckoo Pheasant Coucal Rufous Owl Powerful Owl Barking Owl Australian Boobook Eastern Barn Owl Eastern Grass Owl Australian Masked Owl Greater Sooty Owl Lesser Sooty Owl Marbled Frogmouth Tawny Frogmouth Papuan Frogmouth White-throated Nightjar Spotted Nightjar Large-tailed Nightjar Australian Owlet-nightjar Family group table Index of bird names Habitat pages Key plants Thumbnails page Birds home page

Similar species

Description     Classification     Distribution     Sightings     Photos     Breeding     Nest     Eggs     Behaviour     Food     Call/s

Physical description Click here for a physical description Papuan Frogmouths are by far the tallest of all Australian frogmouths, with the biggest head and strongest bill. Their highly cryptic plumage is dimorphic, i.e. males and females are different. Male Papuan Frogmouths are primarily light silvery-grey with an abundance of brownish-grey scalloping on the front, while the back is more brownish-grey with lighter scalloping. Female Papuan Frogmouths are slightly smaller than males, have more rufous-brown colours with finer scalloping and less spots on their wings. The tails of both sexes are long and have barred feathers of tapered lengths. The eyes of both sexes are conspicuously red (this is not only a photographic artefact when using a flash). The bill, legs and feet are grey. Twitcher's tip Compared with Tawny Frogmouths, Papuan Frogmouths are much taller (especially when compared with race "phalaenoides" of the Tawny Frogmouth, which is found in the northern tropics). Note that Papuan Frogmouths snap their bills and make hissing sounds, while Tawny Frogmouths don't.

Taxonomy, classification See Papuan Frogmouth at Wikipedia .

Range, habitat, finding this species Click here for information on habitat and range The overall distribution of this species can be assessed, and specific locations where birds have been spotted can be found, based on individual sighting reports submitted by birdwatchers to ebird.org . The global distribution of the Papuan Frogmouth is available HERE . Papuan Frogmouths populate West Papua (Indonesia), New Guinea, the islands along Torres Strait and the far north-eastern corner of Australia. On the Australian continent, Papuan Frogmouths are found only on Cape York peninsula and along the eastern coastal strip in QLD, as far South as the estuary of the Burdekin River. Race "rogersi" populates the tip of Cape York peninsula, to about Cape Melville. Farther South, along the QLD (near-)coastal fringe, one finds race "baileyi". Papuan Frogmouths have a preference for the margins of rainforest, gallery forest and mangrove swamps.

Sightings Click here for sighting information Race "rogersi" M. Mearns reports spotting a Papuan Frogmouth, race "rogersi", at Punsand Bay, at the tip of Cape York peninsula, QLD, in October 2008. M. Eaton reports finding a Papuan Frogmouth, race "rogersi", at Cape Melville, Cape York peninsula, QLD, in August 2019. Others were found at Artemis Station and Iron Range NP, Cape York peninsula, QLD, in June 2024. Race "baileyi" M. Eaton reports spotting Papuan Frogmouths, race "baileyi", at Julatten, QLD, and on the Daintree River, QLD, in July 2018, and at the latter location again in December 2018. The species was found again at both locations in October 2024. J. Boettcher, FNQ Nature Tours reports finding Papuan Frogmouths, race "baileyi", semi-regularly in the area around Cairns, along the Daintree River, and in the Atherton Tablelands, QLD.

Photos

Race "baileyi"

ADULT

PAIR

Near-frontal view of a pair of Papuan Frogmouths
Many bird species exhibit sexual dimorphism, i.e., male and female have differing appearances which can be quite subtle.
Note how the male on the left is silvery-grey, while the female has more prominent rufous hues
(photo courtesy of J. Boettcher, FNQ Nature Tours)
[Daintree River, QLD, April 2019]

Close-up near-frontal view of a pair of Papuan Frogmouths; male on the left; the female is extraordinarily dark rufous (photo courtesy of J. Boettcher, FNQ Nature Tours)
[Cairns, QLD, April 2022]

MALE

Close-up frontal view of a male Papuan Frogmouth (photo courtesy of J. Boettcher, FNQ Nature Tours)
[Cairns, QLD, April 2022]

Close-up near-dorsal view of a male Papuan Frogmouth on its nest with chick
(photo courtesy of J. Boettcher, FNQ Nature Tours)
[Maardja Boardwalk, Daintree NP, QLD, December 2022]

FEMALE

Frontal portrait of a female Papuan Frogmouth; note the rufous morphology
(photo courtesy of J. Boettcher, FNQ Nature Tours)
[Lake Barrine, Atherton Tablelands, QLD, June 2019]

Close-up frontal view of a female Papuan Frogmouth (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Julatten, QLD, October 2024]

Close-up frontal view of a female Papuan Frogmouth (photo courtesy of J. Boettcher, FNQ Nature Tours)
[Maardja Boardwalk, Daintree NP, QLD, November 2022]

Frontal view of a female Papuan Frogmouth (photo courtesy of J. Boettcher, FNQ Nature Tours)
[Lake Barrine, Atherton Tablelands, QLD, June 2019]

Near-frontal view of a female Papuan Frogmouth (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Daintree River, QLD, July 2018]

Close-up near-frontal view of a female Papuan Frogmouth (photo courtesy of J. Boettcher, FNQ Nature Tours)
[Daintree River, QLD, February 2020]

Close-up near-lateral view of a female Papuan Frogmouth (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Julatten, QLD, October 2024]

IMMATURE/JUVENILE

Close-up frontal view of a female Papuan Frogmouth with a juvenile (photo courtesy of J. Boettcher, FNQ Nature Tours)
[Maardja Boardwalk, Daintree NP, QLD, November 2022]

Near-lateral view of a female Papuan Frogmouth with two juveniles (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Julatten, QLD, June 2024]

Race "rogersi"

ADULT

MALE

Frontal view of a male Papuan Frogmouth (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Cape Melville, Cape York peninsula, QLD, August 2019]

Frontal portrait of a male Papuan Frogmouth (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Cape Melville, Cape York peninsula, QLD, August 2019]

Near-frontal view of a male Papuan Frogmouth with its head turned sideways (photo courtesy of M. Mearns)
[Punsand Bay, Cape York peninsula, QLD, October 2008]

Near-lateral portrait of a male Papuan Frogmouth (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Cape Melville, Cape York peninsula, QLD, August 2019]

Lateral portrait of a male Papuan Frogmouth (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Cape Melville, Cape York peninsula, QLD, August 2019]

Lateral view of a male Papuan Frogmouth (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Cape Melville, Cape York peninsula, QLD, August 2019]

Lateral view of a male Papuan Frogmouth (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Cape Melville, Cape York peninsula, QLD, August 2019]

Lateral view of a male Papuan Frogmouth (photo courtesy of M. Mearns)
[Punsand Bay, Cape York peninsula, QLD, October 2008]

Near-dorsal view of a male Papuan Frogmouth (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Cape Melville, Cape York peninsula, QLD, August 2019]

FEMALE

Frontal/ventral view of a female Papuan Frogmouth (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Artemis Station, Cape York peninsula, QLD, June 2024]

Near-frontal/ventral view of a female Papuan Frogmouth looking sideways (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Artemis Station, Cape York peninsula, QLD, June 2024]

Near-dorsal/ventral view of a female Papuan Frogmouth looking sideways (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Artemis Station, Cape York peninsula, QLD, June 2024]

Breeding information

Breeding season: Aug - Jan

Eggs: 1 - 2

Incubation period: ca. 30? days

Fledging age: 35 - 42? days

Nest building: ?

Incubation: Male & female

Dependent care: Male & female

Nest

"bungobittah", "lar", "malunna", "jindi" [bundjalung] = nest [Aboriginal]

Type: Basket

Material: Sticks

Height above ground: Wide range

Close-up near-lateral view of a male Papuan Frogmouth on its nest with a chick (photo courtesy of J. Boettcher, FNQ Nature Tours)
[Daintree River, QLD, February 2020]

Male Papuan Frogmouth on its nest with a chick (photo courtesy of J. Boettcher, FNQ Nature Tours)
[Daintree River, QLD, November 2022]

Male Papuan Frogmouth on its nest with a chick (photo courtesy of J. Boettcher, FNQ Nature Tours)
[Daintree River, QLD, November 2022]

Female Papuan Frogmouth on its nest with a chick (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Daintree River, QLD, December 2018]

Close-up near-lateral view of a female Papuan Frogmouth on its nest (photo courtesy of J. Boettcher, FNQ Nature Tours)
[Daintree River, QLD, October 2020]

Close-up lateral view of a male Papuan Frogmouth on its nest
(photo courtesy of J. Boettcher, FNQ Nature Tours)
[Maardja Boardwalk, Daintree NP, QLD, October 2022]

Close-up lateral view of a male Papuan Frogmouth on its nest; 3 weeks later, there was a chick in the nest
(photo courtesy of J. Boettcher, FNQ Nature Tours)
[Maardja Boardwalk, Daintree NP, QLD, November 2022]

Close-up lateral view of a male Papuan Frogmouth on its nest; 3 weeks later, there was a chick in the nest
(photo courtesy of J. Boettcher, FNQ Nature Tours)
[Maardja Boardwalk, Daintree NP, QLD, November 2022]

Eggs

"boyanga", "booyanga", "derinya", "dirandil", "koomura", "mirk", "ngampu", "nooluk", "pateena", "pum-pum" = Egg; "dirundirri" = eggs [Aboriginal]; "gawu" = eggs [gamilaraay]

Size: 50 x 34 mm

Colour: White

Shape: Tapered oval

Behaviour

Social behaviour: Territorial

Mobility: Sedentary

Elementary unit: Solitary/pair

Like all species of frogmouths, this female Papuan Frogmouth uses a cryptic posture as camouflage, mimicing a broken branch (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Daintree River, QLD, October 2024]

Call(s)/Song

For this species we have recorded the following call(s)/song. The interpretation of their meaning is our own; comments and suggestions for improvement are welcome.

papfrog_me_20240613_noNR.m4a	rogersi (Far-N QLD)	"Drumming call" (+ others)	© MD
papfrog_me_20240613.m4a	rogersi (Far-N QLD)	"Drumming call" (no bkgd)	© MD

More Papuan Frogmouth sound recordings are available at xeno-canto.org .

These pages are largely based on our own observations and those of our contributors. The structure of these bird pages is explained HERE. For more salient facts on any bird species please refer to a field guide.

Would you like to contribute photos or sound recordings to this site? If interested, please CLICK HERE. Credits to contributors are given HERE.