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| SCIENTIFIC
CLASSIFICATION |
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| COMMON
NAME: |
tawny
frogmouth |
| KINGDOM: |
Animalia |
| PHYLUM: |
Chordata |
| CLASS: |
Aves |
| ORDER: |
Caprimulgiformes |
| FAMILY: |
Podargidae |
| GENUS
SPECIES: |
Podargus strigoides |
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| DESCRIPTION: |
Tawny frogmouths have enormous, wide, frog-like
mouths to capture insects. Their bill is large,
horny, triangular, and sharply hooked. Their legs
are very short and their feet small and weak. They
are slow and deliberate in their movements, and
are the weakest fliers in the order. They have rounded,
medium length wings. Their plumage is mottled grayish-brown
with darker streaks. There is little to no sexual
dimorphism. |
| MALE |
text |
| FEMALE |
text |
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| SIZE: |
Range in length from 22.5-52.5 cm (9-21 in) |
| MALE |
text |
| FEMALE |
text |
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| WEIGHT: |
text |
| MALE |
text |
| FEMALE |
text |
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| DIET: |
Fish, amphibians, crustaceans, and insects |
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| INCUBATION: |
30
days |
| CLUTCH
SIZE |
1-2
eggs |
| FLEDGING
DURATION |
text |
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| SEXUAL
MATURITY: |
text |
| MALE |
text |
| FEMALE |
text |
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| LIFE
SPAN: |
10 years in managed conditions |
| MALE |
text |
| FEMALE |
text |
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| RANGE: |
Australia and Tasmania |
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| HABITAT: |
Forest and scrubland trees - with special preference
for open eucalyptus woodlands |
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| POPULATION: |
GLOBAL |
Abundant |
| LOCAL |
text |
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| STATUS: |
IUCN |
Common throughout range |
| CITES |
text |
| USFWS |
text |
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| 1. |
Frogmouths nest in trees, usually in the fork of
horizontal branches. Their nests are made of sticks,
and sometimes padded with their own feathers, which
they camouflage with lichen, moss, and spider webs.
Both parents incubate the clutch. When hatched,
the young are covered with down and remain in the
nest until able to fly. |
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| 2. |
Often mistaken for owls, these unique birds are
part of the nightjar, nighthawks, and whippoorwill
family. |
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| 3. |
Tawny frogmouths, nocturnal insect hunters, have
whisker-like feathers around their large mouth to
help trap prey in their wide, frog-like mouth. Their
unusual appearance serves as effective camouflage
during the day while perching in trees. |
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| 4. |
Unlike
other birds that fly at night catching insects,
tawny frogmouths remain very still, waiting for
prey. The insect or spider, fooled by the frogmouth's
coloring, is quickly maneuvered by the whisker-like
feathers above their beak and eaten. |
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| 5. |
During
the day, frogmouths usually sleep in a sedentary
position, when disturbed they raise their head and
stiffen their body, simulating a branch. This behavior
is called "stumping". |
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| 6. |
They
can be heard emitting a soft warning buzz, similar
to a bee, when startled. |
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| 7. |
These
birds are normally monogamous, communicating with
a low, grunting "oom-oom-oom" call. |
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Frogmouths are abundant throughout their range,
but are often killed or injured on the roads during
feeding. Tawny frogmouths are at high risk of exposure
to pesticides as they have adapted to living in
close proximity to human populations. A decade ago,
specific termite chemicals were banned throughout
Sydney because of their toxicity to other species,
but their persistence in the environment continues
to pollute the food chain. Tawny frogmouths are
also at risk from predators, such as cats, dogs,
and foxes. |
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| Queensland
Museum. Wildlife of Greater Brisbane. Queensland
Museum, Brisbane, 1995. |
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Reader's Digest Services. Reader's Digest Complete
Book of Australian Birds. Surry Hills, NSW,
1979. |
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Strahan, R. (Ed.). Cuckoos, Nightbirds and
Kingfishers of Australia. The National Photographic
Index of Australian Wildlife. Angus and Robertson,
1994.
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| http://www.honoluluzoo.org/tawny_frogmouth.htm |
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