Is it an Owl? Is it a Tree? No! It’s a Tawny.
Both Owls and Tawny Frogmouths are nocturnal, eat insects, have large eyes and are silent when they fly. With a similar appearance, the Tawny is often mistaken for a member of the owl family, however it has many features that make it different from an Owl.
A Tawny eats insects and only small prey such as spiders, snails and worms while owls have been known to catch animals and birds up to their own size or sometimes larger. Their eyes don’t face forwards like an owl, they have weak small feat as opposed to the owl who uses its feet to assist in the catching of prey, and Owls have twelve tail feathers while a Tawny has ten.
A Tawny eats insects and only small prey such as spiders, snails and worms while owls have been known to catch animals and birds up to their own size or sometimes larger. Their eyes don’t face forwards like an owl, they have weak small feat as opposed to the owl who uses its feet to assist in the catching of prey, and Owls have twelve tail feathers while a Tawny has ten.
When not being mistaken for an owl, the Tawny Frogmouth is also often mistaken for a tree branch. These birds are masters of camouflage, with mottled grey, black and brown feather patterns they successfully mimic tree branches when sitting still.
When a roosting Tawny is discovered, it assumes an unusual posture. It turns it's body to be streamline with the branch, lifts it's head and sleeks it's feathers in an effort to resemble a broken branch. Behaviour
The Tawny is nocturnal and usually prefers open woodland but can be found in a variety of habitats throughout mainland Australia and Tasmania.
They mate for life, surviving for up to 14 years in the wild, they often remain in a single territory for more than 10 years. They lay two to three eggs each breeding season in a nest made of sticks on a horizontal tree branch. |
|
References:
Bush Heritage Australia (2016) “Tawny Frogmouth” <www.bushheritage.org.au/species/tawny-frogmouth>
Society for the Preservation of Raptors (2006) “Species Data, Tawny Frogmouth” <www.raptor.org.au/pstrigoides.html>
Birdlife Australia (n.d.) "Tawny Frogmouth Podargus strigoides" <www.birdlife.org.au/bird-profile/tawny-frogmouth>
Bush Heritage Australia (2016) “Tawny Frogmouth” <www.bushheritage.org.au/species/tawny-frogmouth>
Society for the Preservation of Raptors (2006) “Species Data, Tawny Frogmouth” <www.raptor.org.au/pstrigoides.html>
Birdlife Australia (n.d.) "Tawny Frogmouth Podargus strigoides" <www.birdlife.org.au/bird-profile/tawny-frogmouth>