Papuan Frogmouth Papuan-Frogmouth

Podargus papuensis

Size - 50-60 cm. The largest frogmouth with a bulbous bill, red eye, cream eyebrow, long tail and dark wings. Male is slightly larger, darker and marbled in appearance. Female is more rufous in appearance

Common in north-east Australia from Townsville to Cooktown.

Breeds October - January in small flat structure of twigs usually in an upright fork of a tree up to 10m from the ground. One or two white eggs laid.

Daytime roosting is singly or in small groups in either dense or sparse trees, at various heights. Perch with the head skyward, well camouflaged and using stillness to resemble a branch or stump of the tree.

Feeding at night usually on insects, frogs, small rodents and lizards. Flight is from a perch, is silent and slow as they swoop on the prey and pick them up with the wide bill. Hunting is usually done from the edge of dense forest such as monsoon forest or rainforest, often from fence posts or signposts on the road. They are slow to move from the road, so are vulnerable to road traffic. Hunting is normally done early evening or before dawn while there is faint light.

Regularly sighted along Barratt Creek, Daintree River and Stewart Creek Road.

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