Tawny Frogmouths

This Tawny was photographed on the York Williams Rd near Dyrandra Woodlands was in the wheatbelt.

You are most likely to see a Tawny frogmouth before you hear one. They will follow your headlights if you are driving slowly as they want to catch the insects that the headlights attract.

Go Here to our Wildlife Tales pages to see where these frogmouths have found me.

They are found throughout Western Australia in open wooded areas. Only this species is found in this state.

They are approx 35cm-53cm in length.

They sound very different to the Boobook owl that may live in the same area.

To learn more about this bird in the wild go to our Wildlife Tales pages.

What do they eat?

They mostly catch insects on the ground and not on the wing like nightjars do.

When they open their mouths at night the creamy white colour inside reflects the moon light and some moths may be attracted and fly straight in.

I have found in looking after these birds, when they have come in injured, that they are not at all aggressive in their nature (despite their gruff appearance). The most they will do is hiss at you or snap your finger as they learn to accept food from a human.

I have a seen Tawny eat a centipede off the roads at night at Lane Poole Reserve. It went back up to the tree to eat it. And I have seen several Tawny's eating black beetles off the roads at night at Mt Dale.

Photograph by Mary Heslen

They use their beak if they catch a mouse or small bird. The beak has a small hook at the front to stop prey from pulling out.

This skull was7.5cmL x 5cmW and was photographed at the Western Australian Museum.
	The Tawny frogmouths legs and feet are weak and can not lock onto prey like an owl or bird of prey.
Their nests are a flimsy platform of sticks in the fork of a tree. Their eggs are white and unmarked. Its thought that the male sits on the nest during the day.	Photograph by Mary Heslen Whiteman Park Perth
Their soft down feathers are used to line their nests when they are breeding. They may also use spider web and lichen.	This is a baby Tawny Frogmouth chick. I helped to raise this chick and its sibling in captivity. They are very fluffy, soft and cute. In the wild these chicks are fed by both of their parents with regurgitated insects. After they fledge they stay with their parents for quite a few months although they are probably feeding themselves.

Photograhed at Eagles Heritage in Margaret River WA

Another sign you could find is the regurgitated pellet. What the stomach acids can't break down come back out as a pellet of fur, bones, teeth, claws, seeds, insects etc. Their pellets are different to owl pellets as the Tawny's eat more insects and will have more exoskeleton remains in the pellet.

These birds differ from nightjars as they roost in trees and not on the ground. They sleep in a long lean shape to look as much like a branch as possible. Their colouring allow them to blend in so well you could easily walk straight past a sleeping tawny.

Northern Tawny Frogmouth

This Tawny Frogmouth was photographed at the Alice Springs Desert Park and they called it a Northern Tawny Frogmouth. I'm not sure if it is the same species as the one we have here in the lower South West of WA.

Text;
"Encyclopedia of Australian Animals-Birds" Terence R Lindsey