Laughing Kookaburra

Dacelo novaeguineae

Family: Alcedinidae (Alcedinid Kingfishers, 10 species in Australia)
Size: 45 cm
Distribution: Most of Eastern Australia plus small parts of WA and NT
Status: Common
Habitat: Open forests, woodlands
References: Simpson and Day, Reader's Digest

One of the most famous of all Australian birds.

Laughing Kookaburra - Dacelo novaeguineae
Photo: Australia Zoo QLD

Laughing Kookaburra - Dacelo novaeguineae
Photo: Featherdale Wildlife Park, Sydney NSW. High Resolution (1870 x 2944)

Laughing Kookaburra - Dacelo novaeguineae
Photo: Wentworth Falls, Blue Mountains NSW

Laughing Kookaburra - Dacelo novaeguineae
Photo: West Head, Kuring-gai Chase National Park NSW

The photo below shows a juvenile Laughing Kookaburra.

Juvenile Laughing Kookaburra - Dacelo novaeguineae
Juvenile Laughing Kookaburra. Photo: WIRES, Blue Mountains NSW

Laughing Kookaburra - Dacelo novaeguineae
Artwork: John Gould, 'The Birds of Australia', 1848. Original Scanned Image.

Some Birdwatching Resources


Birdsong, Don Stap Birdsong, Don Stap. From the promotional material: "Following one of the world's experts on birdsong from the woods of Martha's Vineyard to the tropical forests of Central America, Don Stap brings to life the quest to unravel an ancient mystery: Why do birds sing and what do their songs mean? We quickly discover that one question leads to another. Why does the chestnut-sided warbler sing one song before dawn and another after sunrise? Why does the brown thrasher have a repertoire of two thousand songs when the chipping sparrow has only one? And how is the hermit thrush able to sing a duet with itself, producing two sounds simultaneously to create its beautiful, flutelike melody?"

Purchase from Australia (Booktopia)

Click here to purchase from Australia (Fishpond)

Click here to purchase from Wilderness Awareness School $24.00 USD (May not work)


Field Guide to Australian Birds, by Michael Morcombe Field Guide to Australian Birds, by Michael Morcombe. This one has colour drawings of the eggs and the nests which not many other field guides do (I can't think of any that do). It's an excellent field guide and one of the four main ones (the other three being above this one). The weakness of this field guide is that some of the pictures of the birds aren't as good (or accurate) as the other three most used field guides. It's also the heaviest though there is a pocket edition which is much smaller and lighter.

Purchase from Australia (Booktopia)

Purchase from Australia (Angus & Robertson)

See Also

Australian Bird Field Guides

Return to Australian Birds
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Laughing Kookaburra - Dacelo novaeguineae

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