Australian Animals Series
This series focuses on exploring the beauty of the Australian countryside and paying homage to the animals that live in Australia's unique habitats.
While meandering through the dirt roads, you are quite likely to come across a kangaroo, wallaby, cockatoo, and maybe even a wombat!
The Tawny Frogmouth lives on a diet of insects and feeds through the warmer months before winter, when many insects hibernate. Their beaks are designed to catch insects such as cicadas and beetles and the occasional mouse, rat or frog. Unlike owls, the Tawny Frogmouth is a poor flyer. It will just sit quietly and wait for its prey to approach, swoop down on it and return to its perch. With their nocturnal habit and owl-like appearance, Tawny Frogmouths are often confused with owls, but are actually more closely related to the nightjars. Their feet are weak however, and lack the curved talons of owls.
The general plumage of the Tawny Frogmouth is silver-grey, slightly paler below, streaked and mottled with black and rufous. A second plumage phase also occurs, with birds being russet-red. The eye is yellow in both forms, and the wide, heavy bill is olive-grey to blackish. South-eastern birds are larger than birds from the north. Tawny Frogmouths are nocturnal birds (night birds). During the day, they perch on tree branches, often low down, camouflaged as part of the tree.
The Tawny Frogmouth can be seen in almost any habitat type (except the denser rainforests and treeless deserts), including heath, forest and woodlands, urban and rural areas. The Tawny Frogmouth is found throughout Australia, including Tasmania.
The bulk of the Tawny Frogmouth's diet is made up of nocturnal insects, worms, slugs and snails. Small mammals, reptiles, frogs and birds are also eaten. Most food is obtained by pouncing to the ground from a tree or other elevated perch. Some prey items, such as moths, are caught in flight, which has led to many unfortunate instances of birds being hit by cars while chasing insects illuminated in the beam of the headlights. During the day, the Tawny Frogmouth perches on a tree branch, often low down, camouflaged as part of the tree.