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Laughing Kookaburra

Kookaburra at The Living Desert Zoo and Gardens. Click to see more.

Laughing Kookaburra

Dacelo novaeguineae

Family

Alcedinidae

Conservation Status

Least Concern

Range

Eastern Australia, Western Australia, Tasmania, New Zealand

Habitat

Woodlands and forests

The laughing kookaburra is the most prominent member of the kingfisher family and gets its name from its maniacal-sounding call, replicating a variety of chortles, deep laughs, and hoots.

Nicknamed the “bushman’s alarm clock” for its early dawn and dusk cackling, family groups of kookaburras live in the same territory year-round and communicate boundaries to other groups with their distinctive calls.

Laughing kookaburras can alter their loud vocalizations to find others for courtship, raising alarms, showing aggression, and begging for food.
 

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