Kookaburras (genus Dacelo) - Requested by Anonymous
Kookaburras are terrestrial tree kingfishers native to Australia and New Guinea. They are large to very large, with a total length of 28–42 cm. The name is a loanword from Wiradjuri ‘guuguubarra’, and is onomatopoeic of its call.
Kookaburras are best known for their unmistakable call, which sounds uncannily like loud, echoing human laughter – good-natured, but rather hysterical, merriment in the case of the renowned Laughing Kookaburra (Dacelo novaeguineae); and maniacal cackling in the case of the slightly smaller Blue-winged Kookaburra (D. leachii).
Kookaburras are carnivorous. In the wild, kookaburras are known to eat the young of other birds and snakes, and insects and small reptiles and even other small birds, such as finches if they are lucky enough to catch them.
