Birds
Blue-winged Kookaburra
Dacelo leachii · also called blue-winged kookaburras
Giving a harsher, more cackling call than its famous cousin, a blue-winged kookaburra reveals the flash of blue in its wing that gives it away, a northern relative of the laughing kookaburra that hunts insects and small reptiles across open woodland rather than fish over water.
Overview
The blue-winged kookaburra, Dacelo leachii, is a large, land-hunting kingfisher native to forest and grassland habitat across northern Australia and New Guinea. Its distinctive blue wing patch, harsher and more cackling call than the closely related laughing kookaburra, and powerful bill suited to varied prey make it one of the most physically and acoustically distinct large kingfishers found anywhere in the Australasian region.
A quieter cousin of a famous laugh
While the laughing kookaburra’s call is instantly recognisable around the world, the blue-winged kookaburra offers a harsher, less musical alternative, along with a splash of blue in the wing its more famous relative simply does not have.
Status
Least Concern, remaining widespread across suitable forest and grassland habitat throughout northern Australia and New Guinea.
Blue-winged Kookaburra: common questions
How is the blue-winged kookaburra different from the laughing kookaburra?
This species shows a distinctive flash of blue in the wing that the laughing kookaburra lacks, and gives a harsher, more cackling call rather than the rolling, laugh-like chorus associated with its more famous relative.
What does the blue-winged kookaburra eat?
This species feeds on insects, small reptiles, amphibians, and small mammals, hunted using a large, powerful bill from a perch across open woodland and grassland.
Where is the blue-winged kookaburra found?
This species is found mainly across northern Australia and New Guinea, occupying a more northerly range than the widespread laughing kookaburra found across much of the rest of Australia.
Does the blue-winged kookaburra hunt over water like other kingfishers?
No, this species hunts mainly from a perch across open woodland and grassland, dropping onto prey on the ground rather than diving into water, a land-based hunting style shared with the laughing kookaburra.