Blue Winged Kookaburra:

The blue-winged kookaburra is one of the larger members of the kingfisher family and it measures a total length of about 40 centimeters. While all kookaburras are sexually dimorphic, this is even more apparent in the blue-winged kookaburra as the males sport a blue tail while the females have a tail with blackish bars. This large breed of kingfisher has a rather large squarish head and a long bill. Its eyes are distinctly pale and the head has off – white brown streaks. The shoulders are a sky blue and the bird has a uniform blue rump. The throat will be plain white in color while the under parts are white with faint scalloped orange – brown bars. The feet and legs are usually grey while the bill is dark on the top and yellowish below. Juvenile blue-winged kookaburras have pale streaks on the head along with dark mottling. The blue-winged kookaburra is mainly found in the coastal or sub coastal regions of northwest and northeast Australia. However, the bird is almost completely absent from the Eighty mile beach area in Western Australia that separates the Pilbara population.

The natural diet of these winged creatures covers a wide spectrum and they will eat anything from invertebrates to vertebrates as well as reptiles, insects and even frogs during the wetter months. Much like any kingfisher, they will perform a controlled dive with their bills open in order to grab the food from the ground or from the water level. The bill also has a special groove towards the end of the upper mandible that helps hold on to its prey. Only after the bird has returned to its perch will the prey be beaten to death and consumed. The blue-winged kookaburra’s will usually nest at a high altitude in a tree hollow or hole cut into a soft piece of wood. The floor of the chamber is lower than the entrance with a length of about 50 centimeters.

The blue-winged kookaburras are known to live in family groups of eight individuals that also include a breeding pair that will mate for life. Unlike most other birds, the blue-winged kookaburras have a very strong family bond and the young will tend to live with their parents for several years and help care for their younger siblings. This trait also plays a significant role in perfecting their skills to find a mate and establish their own territory.