The Tawny Frogmouth ( The master of Disguise)

[The Jolly Swagman]

The Tawny Frogmouth or as he is commonly called "Mopoke" is a Nightjar. Seldom seen through the day as they sit motionless and blend into the surroundings of the tree. I posted a pic in the Gallery. If you look carefully the dead tree limb in the centre of the pic....Isn't....thats him
On a Summer's night you can hear him call "Mopoke...Mopoke" in the distance. They feed on insects, mice or other things they can locate. I had a friend who had two loves. His family of Mopokes the parents and two young who sat motionless in the same tree every day, and his collection of green frogs that lived near his water tank. One evening as we sat on his verandah having a beer, one of the Mopokes flew down, captured one of the frogs and we could hear its cries of protest as it was carried off into the darkness. My friend was horrified. It was a case of Mopokes 1 frogs Nil. The pic was taken in a tree at the rear of my house. He would have remained undiscovered except for being detected by the local bird population who proceeed to mob him. Unconcerned he sat there until nightfall

[goosey]

HI TJS, I hope you dont mind that I have added the photo to the thread, when more photos have been uploaded it may not be as easy to find.




The Mopoke truely is a master of disguise - I thought you had put the wrong photo in the gallery at first, I couldn't see it at all!
Another interesting thread,you are giving us an idea of what wildlife there is in Australia apart from Kangaroo's, Koalas and Dingo's.

If you have any pictures of that wonderful named Lillpilly tree - you will have to add it in to the tree and wildflower forum.

[wild worlds]

Hi SwagMan.
How on earth did you spot him? Is it a question of waiting for the sound then following it?
I would love to see some pics of the out back if you have any. I think Aus is a place I need go to. Where would you recommend for a variety of experiences? For say a 4 week trip? WW

[The Jolly Swagman]

Thanks Goosey, you are quite welcome to make any improvement on my post you wish. I am used in other forums to having a picture relating to my post incorporated as it help to show people what Im talking about
I will take a pic of a lillypilly tree for you and let you know when its posted. I have one in fruit outside my house right now , if the birds will leave the berries alone long enough for me to take a pic

[The Jolly Swagman]

Wild Worlds , How did I see him ?, I went to investigate the commotion made by my local flock of Noisey Miner Birds . I call them my aerial police because they number at last count 30. They investigate and give the alarm to anything that should not be in their area. It could be a cat, snake, hawk , lizard etc. The Mopoke have a large domain, maybe he does revisit occasionally. I have seen them sitting on tree stumps in the Bush and on logs on the ground. I guess its a case of having an eye for things in Nature.
Where would I recommend you to go for a 4 day visit. Well North Queensland as it has the rainforest and access to the Atherton Tableland and of course if you visited there then you are adjacent to the Great Barrier Reef. You might also choose Kakadu National Park also in the Northern Territory .I have a friend who works in Washington in the White House. We have been friends via a bird forum for like 5 years. He once complained that when he visited Sydney he expected to see Kangaroos . Of course kangaroos are of the open country. We do have some on local golf courses here but in the West they are there by the thousands
The Noisey Miners will be the subject of another post as they have a very interesting social life

[goosey]

Hi TJS, I was thinking, why don't you add yourself to our map, so we can see where abouts you are?

I know that people using Internet explorer can't appreciate the full benefits yet as those using Mozilla firefox can, hopefully Stuart can sort that problem out soon though!

Here is the link if you haven't come across it yet for the thread -

Map Please!!!

The actual map link - http://www.wildabouttheworld.com/wildlife/map/user

[paul m]

Does it sit like that all day?
Tanny put up a nice picture to show what they look like when aroused!

[The Jolly Swagman]

Goosey, o.k. I'm on the map . Yes! Paul M its a nocturnal bird and its sits throughout the day, and would only fly if forced to do so. At night it hunts