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14

Laughing Kookaburra (Dacelo novaeguineae) Alternate name(s): "Brown Kingfisher", "Great Kingfisher", "Giant Kingfisher", "Laughing Jackass", "Bushman's Clock", "Settler's Clock" Aboriginal name(s): "gugurrgaagaa" [gamilaraay, yuwaalaraay]; "gagaru"/"gagurim"/"gahgun"/"gargugan" [bundjalung]; "kurng-kurng"/"kuRu-kuRu" [yartwatjali, tjapwurrung, djadjawurrung], "kurng" [woiwurrung, wathawurrung] Size: 40-47 cm Weight: 200-450 g

Australia: Family Group 14 Family Group 14 Table Australian Swiftlet Fork-tailed Swift White-throated Needletail Buff-breasted Paradise-Kingfisher Yellow-billed Kingfisher Azure Kingfisher Little Kingfisher Forest Kingfisher Red-backed Kingfisher Torresian Kingfisher Sacred Kingfisher Blue-winged Kookaburra Laughing Kookaburra Rainbow Bee-eater Dollarbird Thumbnails page Family group table Index of bird names Habitat pages Key plants 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 Laughing Kookaburras are the largest kingfishers on Earth. They have a grey head with a brownish-streaked cap and prominent brown eye stripes reaching to the nape of the neck. The rest of the neck and front (throat, chest, belly, vent) are all near-white, with a greyish-creamy tint. The undertail is also near-white, with dark barring. The wings are dark-brown with blue edges to the feathers on the shoulders. Also the flight feathers have a blue leading edge, whereas the rest of the wing feathers have a very thin grey tip. The upperwing is brown, with dark-brown barring and a white tip. Race "minor" is smaller than nominate race "novaeguineae". The irises of all Laughing Kookaburras are black, the massive bill has a dark-grey upper mandible and a cream-coloured lower one; the legs and feet are grey. Juvenile Laughing Kookaburras have more creamy to light-brown barring on the front and a darker lower mandible. Twitcher's tip Compared with Blue-winged Kookaburras, they have much less blue on the wings and all Laughing Kookaburras have a brown tail. Also the prominent eye stripe and the black irises are good diagnostics.

Taxonomy, classification See Laughing Kookaburra 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 Laughing Kookaburra is available HERE . Laughing Kookaburras are large kingfishers that are endemic to Australia. They are found naturally throughout the entire eastern quarter of the Australian continent. Race "minor" is found on Cape York peninsula, down to about Cairns, QLD, on the East coast and to an area half-way between Mt. Isa and Townsville, QLD, in central inland QLD. Nominate race "novaeguineae" populates the rest of eastern QLD and NSW, plus all of VIC and the south-eastern corner of SA. In addition to these, populations have been introduced to the south-western corner of WA, Kangaroo Island off Adelaide, SA, and Tasmania. In good years the inland populations disperse further towards the centre, in the South-East for example all over the Murray-Darling Basin, including the Paroo River catchment. Laughing Kookaburras are usually found in open forest and woodland. They adapt well to the presence of humans and are also found on farmland with scattered trees and in gardens and urban parks. Where to look? How to find this species? Laughing Kookaburras hunt from low to mid-level perches, such as e.g. fenceposts or low branches of trees. Their overall appearance is cream-coloured to brown, with a squat body and a huge bill. Family groups can be found easily by following their raucous calls. These calls carry over distances of a kilometre or more.

Sightings Click here for sighting information Race "novaeguineae" Laughing Kookaburras, race "novaeguineae", were frequent visitors to our place 20 km South of Narrabri, NSW, in the years 2003-2006. They are a very common species in inland NSW. Laughing Kookaburras, race "novaeguineae", were also found by us in various locations along the Australian East coast, ranging from Sydney to the coast of central QLD. J. Greaves reports finding Laughing Kookaburras, race "novaeguineae", regularly in south-western WA, where they have been introduced. D. Wilczynska and M. Eaton report separately finding Laughing Kookaburras, race "novaeguineae", in Tasmania, where they have been introduced. C. Pears reports spotting Laughing Kookaburras, race "novaeguineae", regularly in Quindalup, WA, where they are introduced. J. Boettcher, FNQ Nature Tours found Laughing Kookaburras, race "novaeguineae", in Cairns, QLD, in September 2020. Race "minor" M. Eaton reports finding Laughing Kookaburras, race "minor", at Loyalty Beach, Cape York peninsula, QLD, in August 2019. M. Mearns reports finding Laughing Kookaburras, race "minor", at both Croydon and Mission Beach, QLD, in September 2019.

Photos

Race "novaeguineae"

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ADULT

PAIR

Close-up frontal view of a pair of Laughing Kookaburras (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Sandy Camp Wetlands, Brisbane, QLD, March 2018]

Close-up near-frontal/near-lateral view of a pair of Laughing Kookaburras (photo courtesy of J. Boettcher, FNQ Nature Tours)
[Cairns, QLD, September 2020]

The Laughing Kookaburra on the left told a joke, then both started laughing... these two made a racket that could be heard more than half a kilometre away
[Narrabri Lake, NSW, November 2010]

Near-lateral view of a pair of Laughing Kookaburras posing for the camera (photo courtesy of M. Windeyer)
[Gilgandra, NSW, April 2014]

Lateral view of a pair of Laughing Kookaburras

Sex unknown

Frontal view of a Laughing Kookaburra with its head turned (photo courtesy of A. Ross-Taylor)
[Highland Park, Gold Coast, QLD, July 2013]

Close-up near-frontal portrait of a "sausage thief" (photo courtesy of Y. English)
[Gosford, NSW, October 2008]

Near-frontal view of a Laughing Kookaburra waiting to be fed by a human benefactor (photo courtesy of A. Ross-Taylor)
[Highland Park, Gold Coast, QLD, July 2013]

Near-frontal view of a Laughing Kookaburra
[Sydney, NSW, April 2006]

Near-frontal/ventral view of a Laughing Kookaburra following the observer
[Moree, NSW, November 2011]

Near-lateral view of a Laughing Kookaburra sitting on a rock, unafraid of the photographer (photo courtesy of A. Ross-Taylor)
[Highland Park, Gold Coast, QLD, July 2013]

No, this is not a Laughing Kookaburra with a taste for fashion accessories; rather, it has got a pesky Willie Wagtail on its tail
[Limeburners Creek NP, NSW, October 2013]

Lateral view of a Laughing Kookaburra checking out the photographer
[Yarrie Lake, near Wee Waa, NSW, February 2023]

Lateral portrait of a Laughing Kookaburra (photo courtesy of M. Windeyer)
[Gilgandra, NSW, April 2014]

Lateral portrait of a Laughing Kookaburra
[Yarrie Lake, NSW, August 2013]

Lateral portrait of a calling Laughing Kookaburra (photo courtesy of T. Lawrence)
[Long Beach, NSW, 2003]

Lateral view of a Laughing Kookaburra perched in a Cypress pine
[Yarrie Lake, NSW, August 2013]

Lateral view of a Laughing Kookaburra
[20 km South of Narrabri, NSW, May 2006]

Lateral view of a Laughing Kookaburra displaying its crest

Lateral/ventral view of a Laughing Kookaburra issuing its rollicking call just before the big cackle starts
[Moree, NSW, November 2011]

Near-dorsal view of a Laughing Kookaburra (photo courtesy of J. Greaves)
[Loch McNess, Yanchep NP, near Perth, WA, January 2015]

Near-dorsal view of a wet Laughing Kookaburra (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Stanage Bay, QLD, July 2021]

Close-up dorsal view of a Laughing Kookaburra (photo courtesy of A. Ross-Taylor)
[Highland Park, Gold Coast, QLD, July 2013]

Dorsal view of a Laughing Kookaburra
[20 km South of Narrabri, NSW, March 2006]

Family of Laughing Kookaburras in the top of a dead tree
[Bullawa Creek SCA, NSW, March 2009]

IMMATURE/JUVENILE

Juvenile Laughing Kookaburra honing its hunting skills; note the prominent barring on head and front and the dark lower mandible characterising this as a young bird
[Eulah Creek, NSW, December 2010]

Colour variations

Laughing Kookaburras are subject to the occasional colour deviation from normal. Effects known by us to have been observed are "albinism" (lack of colour pigmentation), "leucism" (deficiency of colour pigmentation) and "hyper-melanism" (excess colour pigmentation).

Albinism

Here a bit of a rarity: Two slightly different views of an albino Laughing Kookaburra; locals from the area where the bird was seen report that there appears to be a clan which regularly produces albinos. Another albino was later seen by us in the township of Narrabri, NSW
[Near Narrabri, NSW, August 2006]

Leucism

Frontal view of a leucistic Laughing Kookaburra, with a deficiency of colour pigmentation (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Anstead Reserve, Anstead, QLD, December 2019]

Near-frontal view of a leucistic Laughing Kookaburra (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Anstead Reserve, Anstead, QLD, December 2019]

Near-dorsal view of a leucistic Laughing Kookaburra (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Anstead Reserve, Anstead, QLD, December 2019]

Dorsal view of a leucistic Laughing Kookaburra (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Anstead Reserve, Anstead, QLD, December 2019]

Hyper-melanism

Near-frontal view of a "Black Kookaburra" - an hyper-melanistic Laughing Kookaburra, with excess colour pigmentation; a second Black Kookaburra was seen at the time (photo courtesy of M. Adam-Cross)
[Yarramundi, NSW, August 2013]

The bird shown above is one of two hyper-melanistic members of a family that have been observed and reported to us until July 2018.

Near-dorsal view of a "Black Kookaburra" - an hyper-melanistic Laughing Kookaburra, with excess colour pigmentation
(photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Near Gatton, QLD, July 2018]

Near-dorsal view of a "Black Kookaburra" - an hyper-melanistic Laughing Kookaburra, with excess colour pigmentation
(photo courtesy of J. Boettcher, FNQ Nature Tours)
[Kuranda, QLD, February 2022]

Race "minor"

ADULT

Sex unknown

Near-lateral view of a Laughing Kookaburra (photo courtesy of M. Mearns)
[Mission Beach, QLD, September 2019]

Near-dorsal view of a Laughing Kookaburra (photo courtesy of M. Mearns)
[Croydon, QLD, September 2019]

Near-dorsal view of a Laughing Kookaburra (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Loyalty Beach, Cape York peninsula, QLD, August 2019]

Near-dorsal view of a Laughing Kookaburra (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Loyalty Beach, Cape York peninsula, QLD, August 2019]

Breeding information

Breeding season: Aug - Dec

Eggs: 2 - 4

Incubation period: 23 - 25 days

Fledging age: 32 - 37 days

Nest

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

Type: Tree hollow

Material: N/A

Height above ground: 3 - 10 m

Instead of tree hollows Laughing Kookaburras sometimes also use arboreal termite nests for nesting. They do not line their nests.

Laughing Kookaburra nestling inside its nest hollow (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Banks Street Reserve, Ashgrove, Brisbane, QLD, November 2019]

Laughing Kookaburra nestling, here seen begging for food (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Banks Street Reserve, Ashgrove, Brisbane, QLD, November 2019]

Laughing Kookaburra nestling, here seen gulping down its meal (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Banks Street Reserve, Ashgrove, Brisbane, QLD, November 2019]

View of the entrance to a Laughing Kookaburra's nest hollow (photo courtesy of R. Druce)

Here the owner of the nest (photo courtesy of R. Druce)

Laughing Kookaburra at the entrance to its nest hollow (photo courtesy of R. Plumtree)
[Great Alpine Highway, Ensay South, East Gippsland, VIC, October 2017]

In this tree a pair of Sulphur-crested Cockatoos makes use of the presence of Laughing Kookaburras; the large opening is used by the kookaburras, the smaller one in the upper left corner by the cockatoos
[Yarrie Lake, near Wee Waa, NSW, October 2011]

Most Laughing Kookaburras choose nesting hollows with very wide openings; however, this one is barely wide enough for a bird to enter and the hollow inside must be wider than the opening
[Near Narrabri, NSW, December 2011]

Eggs

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

Size: 45 x 36 mm

Colour: White

Shape: Rounded

Behaviour

Social behaviour: Territorial

Mobility: Sedentary

Elementary unit: Family clan

We once noticed how a Laughing Kookaburra called its mates for help when a Whistling Kite came onto the scene. Together the 10-12 Kookaburras hustled the big raptor out of their territory.

Laughing Kookaburra going back to its roots, hunting for fish from a coastal cliff
[Little Nobby, Crescent Head, NSW, October 2013]

Laughing Kookaburra hunting off a perch
[Eulah Creek, NSW, August 2008]

THAT's a bill!
[Eulah Creek, NSW, August 2008]

The same Laughing Kookaburra as above
[Eulah Creek, NSW, August 2008]

How does a Laughing Kookaburra ensure that its voice can be heard far and wide? It uses a PA system...!
[Narrabri Lake, NSW, March 2016]

Stand-off between a Laughing Kookaburra and an Australian Magpie
[Eulah Creek, NSW, October 2019]

Food, Diet

Laughing Kookaburras are versatile hunters on land. They will take anything from snakes and lizards to mice, large insects and chicks of other bird species. They are feared by other bird species in the bush.

This Laughing Kookaburra is proving that it is a kingfisher, having caught a yabbie (photo courtesy of A. Ross-Taylor)
[Mt. Tamborine NP, Gold Coast, QLD, April 2015]

"Too late to pray" - Praying Mantis falling prey to a Laughing Kookaburra (photo courtesy of A. Ross-Taylor)
[Mudgeeraba, Gold Coast, QLD, September 2010]

Laughing Kookaburra taking a lizard (photo courtesy of A. Ross-Taylor)
[Mudgeeraba, Gold Coast, QLD, September 2004]

Laughing Kookaburra taking a sizable snake (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Moggill, QLD, September 2017]

Laughing Kookaburras can become very tame when fed; here one with minced meat (photo courtesy of J. Ross-Taylor)
[Highland Park, Gold Coast, QLD, August 2014]

Laughing Kookaburra prize - "Ha, took that off that human!" (photo courtesy of A. Ross-Taylor)
[Mudgeeraba, Gold Coast, QLD, January 2013]

Laughing Kookaburra meal, skinned but not boned... (photo courtesy of A. Ross-Taylor)
[Mudgeeraba, Gold Coast, QLD]

Laughing Kookaburra with a fair-size meal, a rat (photo courtesy of A. Ross-Taylor)
[Highland Park, Gold Coast, QLD, August 2013]

Laughing Kookaburra with an unusual technique, digging its prey out of sand on a beach (photo courtesy of M. Mearns)
[Carmila, QLD, September 2019]

Example of why Laughing Kookaburras do not usually need to drink water - a frog contains plenty of liquid
(photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Lake Eacham, Atherton Tablelands, QLD, November 2018]

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.

lkooka_20151016.m4a	novaeguineae (NW NSW)	Territorial call	© MD
lkooka_20230215.mp3	novaeguineae (NW NSW)	Territorial call (family of 4)	© MD
lkooka_20210215.m4a	novaeguineae (NW NSW)	Territorial calls (pair Q&A)	© MD
lkooka_20200213.m4a	novaeguineae (NW NSW)	Territorial calls (pair Q&A)	© MD
lkooka_20201219.m4a	novaeguineae (NW NSW)	Territorial calls (pair Q&A)	© MD
lkooka_20230811.mp3	novaeguineae (NW NSW)	Territorial calls (family clan)	© MD
lkooka_20200531.m4a	novaeguineae (NW NSW)	Territorial calls (pair Q&A; + White-plumed Honeyeater alarm calls)	© MD
lkooka_20160920.m4a	novaeguineae (NW NSW)	Clan Q&A	© MD
lkooka_art_20131212.m4a	novaeguineae (SE QLD)	Clan-to-clan Q&A	© ART
lkooka_20200718.m4a	novaeguineae (NW NSW)	Arrival & territorial call (+ Willie Wagtail)	© MD
lkooka_20151016_2.m4a	novaeguineae (NW NSW)	? (low chuckle)	© MD
lkooka_20210327.m4a	novaeguineae (NW NSW)	? (low chuckle)	© MD
lkooka_art_20131203.m4a	novaeguineae (SE QLD)	?	© ART

More Laughing Kookaburra 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.

Disclaimer: Comments are always welcome. We give no guarantee that the information presented on these pages is always correct or up-to-date. External links are marked as such and we take no responsibility for the contents of external pages. All images on this site are protected by copyright & used by permission of the respective owners. If you wish to reproduce them or any of the material presented on this web site, please contact us: We hereby acknowledge the original custodians of the land which is described on these pages, including the Gomeroi/Gamilaraay people of the North-west Slopes and Plains of NSW, and the traditional owners of other lands and nations within this country. We acknowledge elders past, present and emerging. Sovereignty was never ceded.          Last updated: Sat, 21 October 2023, 0:51 +00:00