Fledgling kookaburra

[Stephanie Haygarth <>]

Today out in the London Bridge/Qbn River gorge area I had a most entertaining view of a fledgling kooka.  I heard a couple of adult kookaburras making a range of vocalisations beyond the usual laugh; I walked in their direction but they flew further away.  Only after some time did I see the fledgling on a dead branch. It was looking directly at me with such intense curiosity that its body was horizontal and in fact the head was lower than the tail, as per pic.  At first I had no idea what it was, then it all clicked.  Eventually the fledgling assumed a more upright stance and looked more kooka-like.  The adults remained on the fringes of the area, continuing their calls but would not return to their young bird while I was there.  I've noticed before that adult kookas are very reticent about allowing humans to see where their nest hollows are and evidently this applies to the fledged young too.

Cheers
Matthew Higgins

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