SYDNEY (AFP) – Australian wildlife workers on Monday said they had discovered a never-before-seen pair of blue-winged albino kookaburras, believed to have been swept from their nests in a wild storm.
The six-week-old birds, renowned for their laughing cry, were found waterlogged at the base of a tree by a cattle farmer near Ravenshoe, in far northern Queensland, said Harry Kunz from the Eagles Nest Wildlife Sanctuary.
The pink-eyed, pink-beaked and starkly white creatures, thought to be sisters, are the first specimens of their kind ever found in Australia, Kunz said. They are still too young to feed themselves or fly.
"Everybody asks me 'are they rare?' They have never been seen because in nature they would not survive a few days out of the nest because their white colour sticks out and every reptile, owl or predator will get them," Kunz told AFP.
"In the whole of Australia I know there is about three white laughing kookaburras but they are not albino, they have black eyes. For blue wings nobody knows that they exist or can be hatching in this colour."
Wild storms which had recently rocked the area were believed to have swept the unusual chicks from their nests, he added.
Feeding on a diet of small mice, cicadas and moths, the birds were in good health and would be raised at the sanctuary, said Kunz.
"Luckily this farmer found and saved them, they're the real heroes, because probably within the next day they would be dead," he said.
Kunz, founder of the non-profit park, said he was seeking public sponsorship for the birds' care and would offer the rights to name them to the highest bidders.
Usually cream-breasted and bellied with dark brown and blue wings, the kookaburra -- a type of kingfisher -- is an iconic Australian bird which is best known for its call, which sounds uncannily like human laughter.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20101206/sc_afp/australiaanimalkookaburra
Showing posts with label kookaburra. Show all posts
Showing posts with label kookaburra. Show all posts
Thursday, December 9, 2010
Albino kookaburras found in northern Australia (via Chad Arment)
SYDNEY (AFP) – Australian wildlife workers on Monday said they had discovered a never-before-seen pair of blue-winged albino kookaburras, believed to have been swept from their nests in a wild storm.
The six-week-old birds, renowned for their laughing cry, were found waterlogged at the base of a tree by a cattle farmer near Ravenshoe, in far northern Queensland, said Harry Kunz from the Eagles Nest Wildlife Sanctuary.
The pink-eyed, pink-beaked and starkly white creatures, thought to be sisters, are the first specimens of their kind ever found in Australia, Kunz said. They are still too young to feed themselves or fly.
"Everybody asks me 'are they rare?' They have never been seen because in nature they would not survive a few days out of the nest because their white colour sticks out and every reptile, owl or predator will get them," Kunz told AFP.
"In the whole of Australia I know there is about three white laughing kookaburras but they are not albino, they have black eyes. For blue wings nobody knows that they exist or can be hatching in this colour."
Wild storms which had recently rocked the area were believed to have swept the unusual chicks from their nests, he added.
Feeding on a diet of small mice, cicadas and moths, the birds were in good health and would be raised at the sanctuary, said Kunz.
"Luckily this farmer found and saved them, they're the real heroes, because probably within the next day they would be dead," he said.
Kunz, founder of the non-profit park, said he was seeking public sponsorship for the birds' care and would offer the rights to name them to the highest bidders.
Usually cream-breasted and bellied with dark brown and blue wings, the kookaburra -- a type of kingfisher -- is an iconic Australian bird which is best known for its call, which sounds uncannily like human laughter.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20101206/sc_afp/australiaanimalkookaburra
The six-week-old birds, renowned for their laughing cry, were found waterlogged at the base of a tree by a cattle farmer near Ravenshoe, in far northern Queensland, said Harry Kunz from the Eagles Nest Wildlife Sanctuary.
The pink-eyed, pink-beaked and starkly white creatures, thought to be sisters, are the first specimens of their kind ever found in Australia, Kunz said. They are still too young to feed themselves or fly.
"Everybody asks me 'are they rare?' They have never been seen because in nature they would not survive a few days out of the nest because their white colour sticks out and every reptile, owl or predator will get them," Kunz told AFP.
"In the whole of Australia I know there is about three white laughing kookaburras but they are not albino, they have black eyes. For blue wings nobody knows that they exist or can be hatching in this colour."
Wild storms which had recently rocked the area were believed to have swept the unusual chicks from their nests, he added.
Feeding on a diet of small mice, cicadas and moths, the birds were in good health and would be raised at the sanctuary, said Kunz.
"Luckily this farmer found and saved them, they're the real heroes, because probably within the next day they would be dead," he said.
Kunz, founder of the non-profit park, said he was seeking public sponsorship for the birds' care and would offer the rights to name them to the highest bidders.
Usually cream-breasted and bellied with dark brown and blue wings, the kookaburra -- a type of kingfisher -- is an iconic Australian bird which is best known for its call, which sounds uncannily like human laughter.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20101206/sc_afp/australiaanimalkookaburra
Saturday, September 4, 2010
Australian headteacher bans 'gay kookaburras' from song
Garry Martin, from Le Page Primary School in Melbourne, denied he was being ‘dictatorial’ by banning the word – and insisted he just wanted to stop youngsters from giggling.
'It uses gay and I just suggested to kids, 'Nowadays that can mean different things, so let's just sing a fun old time',' Martin stated.
'Political correctness is very much to the fore in schools what's appropriate and what isn't and sometimes we rightly or wrongly err on the side of caution. I guess that was hypersensitive of me.' he added.
http://www.metro.co.uk/sport/football/839884-australian-headteacher-bans-gay-kookaburras-from-song
'It uses gay and I just suggested to kids, 'Nowadays that can mean different things, so let's just sing a fun old time',' Martin stated.
'Political correctness is very much to the fore in schools what's appropriate and what isn't and sometimes we rightly or wrongly err on the side of caution. I guess that was hypersensitive of me.' he added.
http://www.metro.co.uk/sport/football/839884-australian-headteacher-bans-gay-kookaburras-from-song
Australian headteacher bans 'gay kookaburras' from song
Garry Martin, from Le Page Primary School in Melbourne, denied he was being ‘dictatorial’ by banning the word – and insisted he just wanted to stop youngsters from giggling.
'It uses gay and I just suggested to kids, 'Nowadays that can mean different things, so let's just sing a fun old time',' Martin stated.
'Political correctness is very much to the fore in schools what's appropriate and what isn't and sometimes we rightly or wrongly err on the side of caution. I guess that was hypersensitive of me.' he added.
http://www.metro.co.uk/sport/football/839884-australian-headteacher-bans-gay-kookaburras-from-song
'It uses gay and I just suggested to kids, 'Nowadays that can mean different things, so let's just sing a fun old time',' Martin stated.
'Political correctness is very much to the fore in schools what's appropriate and what isn't and sometimes we rightly or wrongly err on the side of caution. I guess that was hypersensitive of me.' he added.
http://www.metro.co.uk/sport/football/839884-australian-headteacher-bans-gay-kookaburras-from-song
Saturday, June 12, 2010
Fat kookaburra Mama Cass learns to fly again after diet
It took a five-week exercise regime at Sydney’s Taronga Zoo for the bird to lose almost a quarter of her body mass after her love of sausages (which developed after residents at a Sydney park started feeding her them at barbecues) saw her weight soar.
Mama Cass - named after the overweight singer from 60s pop group The Mamas & the Papas - successfully lost 100g through diet and exercise through the specially-designed avian fat camp regime.
Her last weigh-in saw her tipping the scales at 447g, within the normal limit for adult kookaburras. She has now been released back into the wild.
Mama Cass - named after the overweight singer from 60s pop group The Mamas & the Papas - successfully lost 100g through diet and exercise through the specially-designed avian fat camp regime.
Her last weigh-in saw her tipping the scales at 447g, within the normal limit for adult kookaburras. She has now been released back into the wild.
Thursday, June 3, 2010
Obese kookaburra sent to fat camp after eating too many sausages
The kookaburra started putting on weight after residents at a Sydney park started feeding her sausages at barbecues.
The chubby bird weighs 565 grams (1.2 pounds), which is almost 40 percent heavier than a normal adult kookaburra, making her so unfit she can no longer fly.
'Out in the wild she'd eat a whole small animal such as a mouse or skink, but butcher's sausages are just too much of a good thing,' said Gemma Watkinson, Sydney's Taronga Zoo wildlife hospital nurse.
A Sydney resident brought the bird to the zoo after spotting dogs chasing her along the ground.
'The kookaburra's been down at the rehabilitation aviary for a couple of weeks on a special "lite n'easy" diet designed by our bird keeper,' said Watkinson. The bird will also undergo a rigorous exercise regime as many as three times a day with a personal trainer.
'We've fitted the temporary home out like a "bird gym",' added Watkinson.
Right now, the bird is showing signs of winning her battle against obesity, but she still has more weight to shed before she becomes ready to be returned to the wild.
Tom Phillips
The chubby bird weighs 565 grams (1.2 pounds), which is almost 40 percent heavier than a normal adult kookaburra, making her so unfit she can no longer fly.
'Out in the wild she'd eat a whole small animal such as a mouse or skink, but butcher's sausages are just too much of a good thing,' said Gemma Watkinson, Sydney's Taronga Zoo wildlife hospital nurse.
A Sydney resident brought the bird to the zoo after spotting dogs chasing her along the ground.
'The kookaburra's been down at the rehabilitation aviary for a couple of weeks on a special "lite n'easy" diet designed by our bird keeper,' said Watkinson. The bird will also undergo a rigorous exercise regime as many as three times a day with a personal trainer.
'We've fitted the temporary home out like a "bird gym",' added Watkinson.
Right now, the bird is showing signs of winning her battle against obesity, but she still has more weight to shed before she becomes ready to be returned to the wild.
Tom Phillips
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