For my course I have been asked to study the movement of a quadruped and a creature of flight. I have chosen to study my favourite animal in the world ... and some random bird.
The bird I have chosen is the Kookaburra
The bird I have chosen is the Kookaburra
Awwwww, Cute right ?
WRONGGG !!!
Dont be fooled by this bird. Its big head in comparison to its body certainly gives it an appealing look to children as they visit the zoo (the feathered bed head look and the laughing also helps)
But this bird means business !
Dont be fooled by this bird. Its big head in comparison to its body certainly gives it an appealing look to children as they visit the zoo (the feathered bed head look and the laughing also helps)
But this bird means business !
Kookaburras eat all sorts of things ranging from your usually insect variety to your not so usual snakes. Being a kingfisher the Kookaburra swoops down at an amazing speed to catch prey (usually only hunts for prey near or on the ground), after it will take its trophy to a perch or anywhere really where it can then repeatedly bash it against a solid object.
Which you can see in the video below.
Which you can see in the video below.
The Kookaburra are so devilish they even anger farmers in Australia and New Zealand for preying on their fowl.
Other than being surprising mean (I forgot to mention 30% of them kill their siblings after hatching in the nest ! ) the Kookaburra aren't the fastest birds in the world. Well ... they aren't that fast at all. Some even die if they investigate road kill because they cant fly away fast enough when a car approaches them. And apparently to the San Diego Zoo's library fact sheets the bird hasn't got very strong feet either.
So how does it catch its prey ?
So how does it catch its prey ?
Well even though it they aren't strong in the speed department the Kookaburra is known to have excellent vision, so alike other birds they rely on a swooping in from above technique.
In the picture above you can see just how tight the bird can get its wings to its body make itself more streamline and to cause less air resistance.
After bringing its wings in the bird then leaves no time in stretching its wings out again to lift its body.
Below is a cute video of some random woman feeding a line of Kookaburras. I'm not just putting this video in to gawk at their cuteness though, this video contains some interesting and important movements these birds make.
You can see the bird hitting its food off the wall to get it in its mouth just as they would when killing their prey.
You can also see funny little ticks on of the bird displays as maybe its clearing its throat or dislodging some stuck food.
Theres also a little action where the closest bird points its beak towards the sky to swallow its food. Here you can see how thick their neck is compared to some other birds. This is also the movement they make when they produce their famous laughing noise.
You can see the bird hitting its food off the wall to get it in its mouth just as they would when killing their prey.
You can also see funny little ticks on of the bird displays as maybe its clearing its throat or dislodging some stuck food.
Theres also a little action where the closest bird points its beak towards the sky to swallow its food. Here you can see how thick their neck is compared to some other birds. This is also the movement they make when they produce their famous laughing noise.
http://library.sandiegozoo.org/factsheets/kookaburra/kookaburra.html#diet
http://animals.nationalgeographic.com/animals/birds/laughing-kookaburra/
http://animals.nationalgeographic.com/animals/birds/laughing-kookaburra/