Tawny Frogmouth, Juvenile, Victoria, Australia

(Click image to enlarge)

The tawny frogmouth (Podargus strigoides) is native to the Australian mainland and Tasmania. They can measure from 34 to 53 cm (13 to 21 in) long and weights up to 680 g (1.50 lb) have been recorded in the wild. They are carnivorous and considered to be among Australia's most effective pest-control birds. Tawny Frogmouths form partnerships for life, and once established, pairs usually stay in the same territory for a decade or more.

These are among the most unusual birds I have seen. The heavy, big-headed, and stocky birds are often mistaken for owls due to their nocturnal habits, coloring, large eyes, and specialized feathers for silent flight. During daylight hours they rest motionless, usually with their eyes closed or nearly closed. I was surprised that while watching and photographing this bird it partly opened its large yellow-orange eyes and began preening. I have previously seen them move to adjust their position but have never previously seen one open its eyes beyond a slit. The exercise didn't last long, and the bird never opened its eyes wider lthan shown in the photograph above. Also notable is that it often kept its eyes within a shadow cast by nearby branch. This shadow is seen in the photograph, cast on the trunk of the tree, to the left side of the bird's head.

When I first began seeing this bird it would always be perched in this same tree with its parents on the same branch or nearby. As time passed the two parents would be in an adjacent tree. About a month later I was unable to find the parents, but this young bird still spends its daylight hours in the tree I originally saw it in, usually on the same branch. It is apparently fully independent now.

You can see other photographs of other adult tawny frogmouths captured in a different area in the same reserve here and here.