animalfunfacts.net - The Animal Encyclopedia for Kids

Blue-Winged Kookaburra

Blue-Winged Kookaburra Facts

Size Up to 16.5 in (42 cm)
Speed Unknown
Weight Up to 11 oz (310 g)
Lifespan Unknown
Food Snakes, fish, insects, frogs
Predators Owls, goshawks
Habitat New Guinea, Australia
Order Coraciiformes
Suborder Kingfishers
Family Alcedinidae
Scientific name Dacelo leachii
Characteristics Looks almost identical to the laughing kookaburra

Main Characteristics

The blue-winged kookaburra belongs to the kingfisher family. It has a short and heavy beak and lives in the mangrove forests of Australia and New Guinea.

Behavior

Blue-Winged Kookaburras Hunt Snakes

The blue-winged kookaburra is known for hunting snakes. It grabs them just behind the head and whacks them against a branch or rock. Eating the snake is a little trickier than catching it. It can’t cut it up with its beak. So after it’s swallowed the head, the rest of the body is still outside. The bird can only swallow it piece by piece, which looks pretty weird.

Blue-Winged Kookaburra Blue-Winged Kookaburra - Photo: Michal Ninger/Shutterstock

The Difference Between Laughing and Blue-Winged Kookaburra

Both birds look very similar. The difference is that the blue-winged kookaburra has a lot more blue feathers, light eyes and small black stripes on its eyes.

Reproduction

The Blue-Winged Kookaburra is a Creative Nest Builder

The blue-winged kookaburra mostly nests in hollow trunks up to 82 feet (25 meters). If it can’t find a suitable one, it might even nest in a termite hill. If this isn’t an option either, it will make a hole in the soft wood of the baobab tree. Usually, a female lays three eggs. The little chicks hatch after around 26 days and then stay in the nest for another five weeks.

Blue-Winged Kookaburra Blue-Winged Kookaburra - Photo: Mogens Trolle/Shutterstock

Blue-Winged Kookaburras Stick Together to Raise Their Young

Relatives and even young birds help to raise the chicks.

Blue-Winged Kookaburra Blue-Winged Kookaburra - Photo: Juan G. Aunion/Shutterstock

Pupils are welcome to use this information at school for animal profiles, fact sheets, essays, work sheets, presentations, posters or homework. All information appearing on this site has been precisely and thoroughly researched, nevertheless should you notice any errors, please do notify us via email.

Copyright © 2018-2023 animalfunfacts.net. All rights reserved. No part of this site or its content may be reproduced without the permission of the copyright holder.

FOLLOW US:

ACROSS THE WORLD: