(Podargus strigoides)
Length: 35-50 cm Common
Possibly the best known Australian nocturnal bird. The streaked and mottled plumage has the appearance of old wood or bark. The yellow eyes look through narrow slits. The beak is wide, and the Tawny Frogmouth may be mistaken for an owl. Its habitat is open woodland, and Eucalypt forest.
The Tawny Frogmouth hunts ground dwelling large insects, and occasionally small frogs, and small birds. It watches from a low perch, and glides silently down to take its prey in its mouth not its claws. The call is a low “ooo-oom-oom-oom”.
They breed from August to December. The nest is a loose platform of sticks lined with leaves. A pair stays together, and uses the same nest each year. Eggs 2 to 3. The Tawny frogmouth is sedentary, and lives in the same 20 to 80 acres of woodland for years.
