Laughing Kookaburra

The laughing kookaburra is the most prominent member of the kingfisher family and gets its name from its maniacal-sounding call, replicating a variety of chortles, deep laughs, and hoots.

Nicknamed the “bushman’s alarm clock” for its early dawn and dusk cackling, family groups of kookaburras live in the same territory year-round and communicate boundaries to other groups with their distinctive calls.

Laughing kookaburras can alter their loud vocalizations to find others for courtship, raising alarms, showing aggression, and begging for food.