10/9/2004: Tawny Frogmouth's mouth

Too scary for a Friday image. The bird is an Australian Tawny Frogmouth, the meal is a mouse, it's feeding time at Sydney's Taronga Zoo.

The official cap says this bird's mouth is camouflaged to look like dry leaves and twigs. Okay.

whoa! yikes! gross! bleh!

the owl looks happy.

Actually, a frogmouth is not an owl. Also, it's the bird itself that looks like a pile of dead leaves when sitting on the ground. Here's a picture of two in a tree:

<a href="http://www.honoluluzoo.org/tawny_frogmouth.htm">http://www.honoluluzoo.org/tawny_frogmouth.htm</a>

Thanks for the correction!

Now that, is a very strange bird.
At least they don't have to worry about miliners and Mummers.

I have a pair of Frogmouths that live around my place. They are nocturnal birds, and I often see one when I put the garbage out at night. They are very peaceful birds. Unfortunately they are classed as endangered due to their habitat being destroyed by man.

a kind ive never heard off!

It looks like some kind of Muppet. Interesting example of evolution.

tawny frogmouth

bluesdave is right .. they are nocturnal, and also very docile .. they specialise in shutting their eyes, never moving, and imitating pieces of dead wood .. which they do perfectly.
You can stand alongside them and not see them, with the right background.

Unfortunately, they are also ready to become an endangered species, due to their docility, and predation by animals such as cats and foxes. Land clearing has also reduced their habitat.
Scroll down this page to see some really good pics of them ..

http://www.bluemountains.net/birds/bird.asp?bird_id=96

Members of the podargus family, with several species, related more to nightjars than owls, they are spread from India, through S.E. Asia, to Australia ..

Here's a classic pic ..

See, that's how nature says "I'm not here."

I'll stick to Tawny Kitaen...