Laughing Kookaburra

The cackle of the laughing kookaburra is an iconic sound of the dry eucalypt forests of eastern Australia at dawn and dusk. This ‘bushman’s alarm’ is a territorial call by the entire clan to warn rivals to stay away.  

The sound is widely used in movies to evoke a jungle setting. Young kookaburras typically attend two weeks of singing lessons before they can produce a convincing laugh!

The laughing kookaburra is the largest kingfisher but it mainly hunts reptiles, rodents and insects.  Prey are usually bashed against a branch before being swallowed.  

From eastern Australia, it has been introduced to Western Australia, Tasmania and New Zealand purportedly for its snake-killing skill. It is common even in Australia’s urban parks and is a tourism symbol of the Australian Outback.