Kookaburra : Wildlife Australia

Kookaburras have an unmistakable boisterous call, usually sung in chorus, that sounds uncannily like loud, human laughter, a sort of good-natured, yet bordering on the hysterical, laugh.

They laugh to mark the boundaries of their territory, then wait to hear the replies of neighbouring groups.

The Kookaburra also laughs to greet its mate after periods of absences. You can hear him any time, but most commonly just as dawn breaks, and at the moment when dusk drains the the colour from the sky.

One bird will start with a low chuckle, then others will join in. One bird will throw back his head and laugh in a frenzied peal and then the whole mob joins in.

Visitors, on first hearing the wild chorus of crazed laughter, are often startled and anxious. I'm used to hearing the kookaburras but sometimes I don't notice one is near and the mad laughter makes me jump, it's so very loud.

As kookaburras wake everyone within earshot at dawn, they are sometimes called the bushman's clock but you hear them in the suburbs too.

In the mornings, just as the sun starts to show, their noisy greetings wake me. Many a time I've been awakened by this 'bushman's clock' before my mechanical alarm kicks in. At times this can be a blessing. At times.

Kookaburras don't just live in scrub or in the Bush. They are found in city parks, along the banks of creeks and rivers and in fact anywhere which can provide some shelter and food. When I turn over my inner-urban garden, at least one kooka will stand near me, his head on the side, waiting to see what my trowel will bring up for his breakfast.

For a long time there was no sun, only a moon and stars. That was before there were people on the earth, only birds and beasts.

One day Dinewan the emu and Brolga the native companion were on a large plain near the Murrumbidgee. The two of them began quarreling, shouting and hitting each other.

Brolga, in her rage, rushed to the nest of Dinewan and seized from it one of the huge eggs, which she threw with all her force up to the sky. There it broke on a heap of firewood, which burst into flame as the yellow yolk spilled all over it, and lit up the world below to the astonishment of every creature on it. They had been accustomed to the semi-darkness and were dazzled by such brightness.

A good Spirit who lived in the sky saw how bright and beautiful the earth looked when lit up by this blaze. The Spirit thought it would be a good thing to make a fire every day, and from that time since it has been done.

All night the Spirit, in the company of other Spirits, collect wood and heap it up. When the heap is nearly big enough the morning star is sent out to warn those on earth that the fire will soon be lit.

The Spirits, however, found this warning was not sufficient, for many were sleeping when the morning star came along, and so didn't see it.

So the Spirits thought someone should make some noise at dawn to herald the coming of the sun and waken the sleepers. But for a long time they couldn't decide who should be the one to do it. At last one evening they heard the laughter of Googoorgaga, the kookaburra, ringing through the air.

"There - that is the noise we want," said the Spirits.

Then they told Googoorgaga that, as the morning star faded and the day dawned, he was every morning to laugh his loudest, so that his laughter might awaken all sleepers before sunrise. If he wouldn't agree to do this, then no more would they light the sun-fire, but let the earth be dark again for always.

But Googoorgaga saved the light for the world. He agreed to laugh his loudest at every dawn of every day, and so he has done ever since, making the air ring with his loud cackling, "Googoor gaga, googoor gaga, googoor gaga."

When the Spirits first light the fire, it doesn't give out much heat but by the middle of the day, when the whole heap of firewood is in a blaze, the heat is very fierce. After that it begins to die gradually away until, at sunset, only red embers are left. They quickly die out, except a few that the Spirits cover up with clouds and save to light the heap of wood they get ready for the next day.

Children are never allowed to imitate the laughter of Googoorgaga, lest he should hear them and cease his morning cry. If children do laugh as he does, an extra tooth grows above their eye-tooth, so that they carry the mark of their mockery in punishment for it.

The good Spirits know that if ever a time comes when Googoorgaga stops laughing, then no more dawns will be seen, and all will be dark again.

And that is why we must always care for Googoorgaga and never harm him.

So when you see Googoorgaga, stop, and greet him with great respect.

A kookaburra can live for 20 years

Kookaburras form permanent pairs, nesting from September to January in holes in trees, and produce two or three eggs.

The young birds don't leave when they reach maturity, but stay on in the subordinate role of non-breeders (only the senior pair breeds). These "auxilliaries", as they are known, defend territorial boundaries and protect offspring, a social system common among Australian birds contributing to their high breeding success.

10% of my income goes to continue the work of Fred Hollows in treating avoidable blindness and improving indigenous health.

Photo : Khim Rath, who can now see after a successful cataract operation, Kampong Chhnang province, Cambodia.

Blindness is a significant public health issue in Cambodia. Over 160,000 people are blind and an additional 20,000 become blind each year. The main cause of blindness is cataract, which can be treated by a simple 15 minute operation at an average cost of $25 (AUD$35).

Thanks very much for dropping by to read about the Kookaburra. You're more than welcome to leave a note in the guest book above and, if you're a member of Squidoo, you can also rate this lens :)

It's all much appreciated, Susanna

For more pages like this, my lens collection is at Susanna's Lensography