Meet Laughing Kookaburra. Are They Laughing or Screaming?

Australia is full of unique animals, but the laughing kookaburra must be one of the most well known. The bird prefers dry forests with streams but is also commonly found in backyards, parks, and gardens. Its population is stable in the wild and seems to thrive in the presence of humans: the birds are known to be bold and steal food from picnics, sometimes snatching hot meat straight from the barbecue. Meet Lovely Laughing Kookaburra. Let's get to know them a little more.

Its diet is made up of a variety of ground-dwelling animals. The kookaburra dives with beak open to grab the prey from the ground. Its beak is specialized to enable it to hold prey. After a successful catch, the bird returns with it to its perch. It beats the prey on the perch before swallowing it. However, it is very careful if it is hunting snakes. Undigested food is regurgitated, which can be seen on the ground below its nest. TKookaburra chicks are born blind and naked. They have an egg-tooth, to help them crack out of their egg shells. During the first week of their lives the chicks are very aggressive — the older ones often tend to kill the younger ones. For the first 1 to 2 months, the parents teach the young how to hunt, until they are old enough to fend for themselves.