The Laughing Kookaburra

With their loud, powerful voices, Kookaburra’s have become natural musicians, composing some of the most intriguing of pieces, landing them the spot as the featured animal of this week.
Here are some fun facts about these incredible birds:
~Their scientific name is Dacelo novaeguineae
~The Kookaburra, or the Laughing Kookaburra as it’s called for its unique voice, usually makes its kook-kook-kook-ka-ka-ka call early in the morning.
~Kookaburra’s are usually about 47 cm tall and weighs 500 grams.
~These animals originated in eastern Australia
~They can be found in woodlands, forests, orchards, parkland, farmland with trees, and sometimes, towns.
~Kookaburra’s diet consists of large insects, lizards, snakes, frogs/toads, small rodents, birds, and fish.
~It takes three weeks for hatchlings to open their eyes and finally see.
~Kookaburra ‘families’ stay together, the parents feeding the babies, until the next year when the mating season begins again.
Now that you know more about them, go check out the Kookaburra’s at the Henry Vilas Zoo, and see if you can catch them in the middle of one of their cheerful tunes.

Thanks!
~Brooke