Feathered Friday. Tawny Frogmouth.

Tawny Frogmouth.

This is my entry for this week's Feathered Friday challenge organized by my friend @keithboone

I captured these images at the David Fleay Wildlife Park. This is a heritage-listed wildlife park situated at Tallebudgera Creek Road, Tallebudgera, in Queensland, Australia. Their selection of wildlife is incredible and I enjoyed getting close enough to this gorgeous Tawny Frogmouth as it was being fed by its carer. He was blind in one eye and after being nursed back to health, it has remained as a much loved addition to this park.

The Tawny Frogmouth (Podargus strigoides) is a species of frogmouth which are native to Australia. They are found throughout the mainland and also on the island of Tasmania. They are stocky birds with large heads and are often mistaken for owls due to their nocturnal habits and similar colouring. The tawny frogmouth is also incorrectly referred to as "mopoke", which is a common name for the Australian boobook. Their call is often confused with the Tawny Frogmouth's.

Tawny frogmouths can measure from 34 to 53 cm (13 to 21 in) long and weighs up to 680 g (1.50 lb) in the wild (and perhaps even more in captivity), but this is rare. They are smaller in size than its relative, the Papuan frogmouth. They have rounded wings, short legs, wide, heavy, olive-grey to blackish bills that are hooked at the tip and topped with distinctive tufts of bristles. Their beautiful eyes are large, yellow, and frontally placed, a trait they share with owls.

Tawny frogmouths have three distinct colour morphs with grey being the most common for males and females. The male species have silver-grey upperparts with black streaks and slightly paler underparts and feature white barring and brown to rufous mottling. Females of this morph are generally darker in colour and feature more rufous mottling.

Females of the subspecies P. s. strigoides have a chestnut morph and females of the subspecies P. s. phalaenoides have a rufous morph. Leucistic or albinistic all-white aberrant plumage for this species has been documented.

One of the best examples of cryptic plumage and mimicry in Australian birds is seen in the tawny frogmouth which perch low on tree branches during the day camouflaged as part of the tree.Their silvery-grey plumage patterned with white, black, and brown streaks and mottles allows them to freeze into the form of a broken tree branch and become practically invisible in broad daylight. The tawny frogmouth often chooses a broken part of a tree branch and perches upon it with its head thrust upwards at an acute angle using its very large, broad beak to emphasise the resemblance. Often, a pair sits together and points their heads upwards, only breaking cover if approached closely to take flight or warn off predators. When threatened, adult tawny frogmouths make an alarm call that signals to chicks to remain silent and immobile, ensuring that the natural camouflage provided by the plumage is not broken.

There are some distinct differences between Tawny Frogmouths and owls. Although both tawny frogmouths and owls have mottled patterns, wide eyes, and anisodactyl feet, owls legs are stronger and their talons are more powerful, plus their toes have a unique flexible joint which is used to catch their prey.

Tawny frogmouths use their beaks to catch their prey and they prefer to roost out in the open, relying on their very effective camouflage for defence. They build their nests in tree forks, whereas owls roost in hidden spots amongst thick foliage and prefer to build their nests in tree hollows.

The forward facing beaks of the Tawny frogmouths are ideal for catching insects but owls have narrow, downwards-facing beaks which they use to effectively tear their prey apart. The eyes of tawny frogmouths are to the side of the face, while the eyes of owls are fully forward on the face. Another distinct difference is that owls have full or partial face discs and large, asymmetrical ears, but tawny frogmouths do not.

They adapt to a varied habitat which includes forests, woodlands, scrub, heathland vegetation, and savannahs but they are seldom found in heavy rainforests or treeless deserts. Large numbers of Tawny frogmouths populate many river gums and trees, and can also be found along river courses, especially where trees are prevalent. Tawny frogmouths are common in suburbs, nesting in parks and gardens because they have become familiar to humans.

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THANK YOU FOR VIEWING. HAVE A GREAT DAY.