Fun Facts!

Inborn nest-training: tawny frogmouth chicks move to the edge of the nest and deposit their droppings over the edge, apparently without being trained to do so.

Tawny Frogmouth

Podargus strigoides

PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION

The tawny frogmouth is 14-21 inches long. Often mistaken for owls, they have yellow eyes and a wide beak topped with a tuft of bristly feathers. Both the males and females look alike with gray spotted body feathers. They make loud clacking sounds with their beaks and emit a reverberating booming call. They blend into their habitat well, looking like a branch of the tree where they perch.

HABITAT

Found in trees throughout Australia, Tasmania and southern New Guinea.

DIET IN THE WILD

They mainly eat insects, snails and slugs, and will also eat rats, mice, cicadas, beetles and frogs. Unlike owls that pursue prey, the tawny frogmouth usually sits motionless on a tree, waiting for dinner to perch on its beak. Then, with a quick turn of its head and a snap of its beak, the prey is captured. Sometimes they will hunt at night, dropping from their perch to catch smaller prey on the ground, but will catch their prey with their beaks, instead of their talons.

BEHAVIOR

They are nocturnal, hunting food at night and resting during the day. They generally spend their time in the trees, with their mates or alone. Tawny frogmouth pairs stay together until one of the pair dies. They usually use the same nest each year, and make routine repairs to their nest. After mating the female lays two or three eggs onto a lining of green leaves in the nest. Both parents take turns sitting on the eggs to incubate them until they hatch about 30 days later. Both parents help feed the chicks. About 25 days after hatching, the chicks are ready to leave the nest.

STATUS IN THE WILD / CONSERVATION EFFORTS

Their status is the ‘least concern’ category. They often live near urban areas, so predators include dogs and cats and foxes. Pesticides are also a considerable danger.

LIFE SPAN

Tawny frogmouths can be kept as pets, and can live up to 10 years in captivity. Their life span is less in the wild.