And...we have Kookabubbas! So exciting. And noisy. Very, very noisy. The resident family group have been flying around, laughing and chuckling up and down the street and bringing tasty cicadas and lizards to the two babies. And boy are they cute! They have these stumpy little tails and all black beaks (this slowly changes to the black on top, buff on the bottom colouring that we see in adults at around 4 months of age) so are probably around 2-3 months old.
Like all babies they just sit and squawk this dry, strangled kind of call (intermingled with the occasional laugh that needs loads more practice) until one of their parents or siblings from previous hatchings brings them food.
It's a bit of a brutal introduction to the world with 3 eggs usually laid, but if resources are low and all 3 eggs hatch, 2 of the hatchlings will kill the third baby by stabbing it to death with their beaks or letting it starve. So, yeah. Kookaburras. Still, there's nothing quite like looking up into the gum trees and watching a few of these beautiful birds throwing their heads back and roaring with laughter - even if it is territorial.
Laughing Kookaburras
Northern Illawarra
