You can see the chick's tail under that of the parent. The Frogmouth is a Nightjar, not an owl.


Tawny Frogmouth by RobGeraghty, on Flickr

[ToddK]

Another outstanding capture Rob! It doesn't look very easy to spot the nest site. It blends in very well with the tree limb.

[RobG]

Another outstanding capture Rob! It doesn't look very easy to spot the nest site. It blends in very well with the tree limb.

Thanks! Luckily, someone else found the nest and told me where it was. I might go back tomorrow and see if the chick is out and about.

[MikeNArk]

These birds would be hard to find. Interesting birds in Australia. Good capture, hope you do get a shot of the chick. Thanks or posting and the bird info.

[RobG]

These birds would be hard to find. Interesting birds in Australia. Good capture, hope you do get a shot of the chick. Thanks or posting and the bird info.

Thanks! We have a lot of interesting birds here. I was curious a while back about what the key distinction was between Owls and Nightjars; it's how they feed. Owls catch prey with their talons. Nightjars catch prey with their beaks.

[OrchidJulie]

You can see the chick's tail under that of the parent. The Frogmouth is a Nightjar, not an owl.


Tawny Frogmouth by RobGeraghty, on Flickr

The zoo here has (had?) a frogmouth in their free-flight aviary... incredibly well-camouflaged in the trees, nearly impossible to see it unless you were looking very carefully. I'd have missed it altogether if a docent hadn't pointed it out to us. Sadly someone molested it and injured one of its eyes...made me furious to learn that.
Because of covid we haven't been to the zoo in a long time, I hope to be able to get back there before too much longer, and if we get to the aviary I'll be on the lookout for it. Zoo Miami is "cageless", and huge, so you have to choose an area to explore, I don't think it's possible to see the entire park in one visit.

[angkymac]

That bird is a camouflage even to itself!
(Wonder how the males are able to find the females...!)
Great capture!
Angky

[PJ1]

Good catch. They can be hard to spot in the trees.

[RobG]

The zoo here has (had?) a frogmouth in their free-flight aviary... incredibly well-camouflaged in the trees, nearly impossible to see it unless you were looking very carefully. I'd have missed it altogether if a docent hadn't pointed it out to us. Sadly someone molested it and injured one of its eyes...made me furious to learn that.

Wow, people are crazy. Sadly, some poeple have no respect for nature and go out of their way to do harm to it.

Because of covid we haven't been to the zoo in a long time, I hope to be able to get back there before too much longer, and if we get to the aviary I'll be on the lookout for it. Zoo Miami is "cageless", and huge, so you have to choose an area to explore, I don't think it's possible to see the entire park in one visit.

That sounds great! There's a couple of larger aviaries in Australia but nothing that huge.

That bird is a camouflage even to itself!

Why did the Frogmouth trip? It couldn't find its own feet!

(Wonder how the males are able to find the females...!) Great capture!

They call at night when most other creatures are asleep.

Good catch. They can be hard to spot in the trees.

Thanks! I didn't find it, one of the most keen local birders did, and gave me a hint where to look.

[OrchidJulie]

Wow, people are crazy. Sadly, some poeple have no respect for nature and go out of their way to do harm to it.

That sounds great! There's a couple of larger aviaries in Australia but nothing that huge.

Well, the entire zoo is huge, 750 acres. The aviary is quite big, too, 54,000 sq. ft. Nearly all of it is free flight, the only birds in a separate enclosure are a couple of hornbills, they are apparently dangerous, so they have their own portion of the aviary separated by a heavy mesh curtain. Offhand I don't remember what kind of hornbill, only that they were very big and had fluffy, feathered legs. But all of the other birds are completely free inside, including the frogmouth. I was very upset about the injury to it. Absolutely no justification for that, just pure meanness.

[RobG]

Well, the entire zoo is huge, 750 acres. The aviary is quite big, too, 54,000 sq. ft. Nearly all of it is free flight, the only birds in a separate enclosure are a couple of hornbills, they are apparently dangerous, so they have their own portion of the aviary separated by a heavy mesh curtain. Offhand I don't remember what kind of hornbill, only that they were very big and had fluffy, feathered legs. But all of the other birds are completely free inside, including the frogmouth. I was very upset about the injury to it. Absolutely no justification for that, just pure meanness.

The Zoo sounds great! Sad about the attack on the Tawny Frogmouth. Here, animals in sanctuaries are often ones which were injured in the wild or otherwise rescued and can't survive in the wild. The University of Queensland had a Boobook Owl which was rescued as a chick but one of his eyes hadn't developed properly because of poor nutrition. The largest zoo here is the Western Plains zoo at Dubbo which has very large enclosures for large animals and you drive or ride a bicycle between most of them, over an area of 300 hectares (740 acres).

[OrchidJulie]

The Zoo sounds great! Sad about the attack on the Tawny Frogmouth. Here, animals in sanctuaries are often ones which were injured in the wild or otherwise rescued and can't survive in the wild. The University of Queensland had a Boobook Owl which was rescued as a chick but one of his eyes hadn't developed properly because of poor nutrition. The largest zoo here is the Western Plains zoo at Dubbo which has very large enclosures for large animals and you drive or ride a bicycle between most of them, over an area of 300 hectares (740 acres).

It is a great zoo. No motor vehicles inside it, although there is a monorail one can ride to get around to the most distant exhibits. And one can rent bicycles and pedal cars. It's cageless, all the animals are in "habitat" enclosures, separated from visitors by moats and the like. They use to have some koalas (my favorite; the loss of so many during the fires broke my heart), I'm not sure if they still do. I recall there was some issue with feeding them, as the eucalyptus they eat doesn't grow here, it had to be imported from somewhere, California I think. I just checked their site and it looks like they do still have some.

[RobG]

It is a great zoo. No motor vehicles inside it, although there is a monorail one can ride to get around to the most distant exhibits. And one can rent bicycles and pedal cars. It's cageless, all the animals are in "habitat" enclosures, separated from visitors by moats and the like. They use to have some koalas (my favorite; the loss of so many during the fires broke my heart), I'm not sure if they still do. I recall there was some issue with feeding them, as the eucalyptus they eat doesn't grow here, it had to be imported from somewhere, California I think. I just checked their site and it looks like they do still have some.

Sounds great! I think it was the San Diego Zoo which pioneered the moat style enclosure. I think they were also the first Zoo in the USA to have Koalas. You're right, a lot of them died in the fires. Not just Koalas but Kangaroos, Wallabies, Bandicoots, Possums, Gliders, and millions of other animals.

[OrchidJulie]

Sounds great! I think it was the San Diego Zoo which pioneered the moat style enclosure. I think they were also the first Zoo in the USA to have Koalas. You're right, a lot of them died in the fires. Not just Koalas but Kangaroos, Wallabies, Bandicoots, Possums, Gliders, and millions of other animals.

I think San Diego was the inspiration for Zoo Miami. Yes, the loss of all of that life in the fires was horrible. I hope the recovery is good, even if it takes a long time.

[RobG]

I think San Diego was the inspiration for Zoo Miami.

Cool! The first one I saw which was that style was the Singapore Zoo.

Yes, the loss of all of that life in the fires was horrible. I hope the recovery is good, even if it takes a long time.

I hope so too. Happily in most of the fire affected areas, there's been higher than average rainfall in the last 18 months, which has helped shrubs to grow, and trees to sprout by epicormic growth if they are capable of it. The recovery in the higher altitudes is much slower, but we can hope that there's a respite until the next drought. I hope this summer is wetter than average, although there have already been fires in northern parts of Australia where the rains from the south haven't reached. Fingers crossed.