Trivia question for Mar-15-2011

Olivia’s turn and she picked this one because of their big head.  She said they somewhat resemble the species they are named after.  Let’s see how she does:  These birds are not owls, although they have some similarities.  These guys have yellow eyes and a wide beak topped with a tuft of bristly feathers. They make loud clacking sounds with their beaks and emit a reverberating booming call.

They hunt at night and spend the day roosting on a dead log or tree branch close to the tree trunk. Their camouflage is excellent — staying very still and upright, they look just like part of the branch.

So here are Olivia’s questions: Tell us what these birds are called and how they got their name.  Also, tell us how these birds differ from owls.

Good Luck 😉

Answer:

OMG, you guys are too good.  Congratulations go out to so many of you for getting the answers correct but Nonie was the first one to get them all answered first.  Great job.  The puffy bird we featured is the Tawny Frogmouth.  The Tawny Frogmouth, is an Australian variety of frogmouth, a type of bird found throughout the Australian mainland, Tasmania and southern New Guinea. The Tawny Frogmouth is often thought to be an owl. Frogmouths are not raptorial birds.

How they differ from Owls: Tawny Frogmouths and owls both have anisodactyl feet – meaning that one toe is facing backwards and the other three face forwards. However, owls’ feet are much stronger than the feet of the Tawny Frogmouth as owls use their feet to catch their prey. Tawny Frogmouths have fairly weak feet as they use their beaks to catch their prey.

The species owes its name to naturalists who witnessed it using its mouth like a frog to catch flying insects in midair.   Here is more on these opportunistic birds:  Tawny Frogmouth

Thanks for playing along 😉