Deceptive call of frogmouths
THE tawny frogmouth appears to have adapted quite well to the suburban environment, and I was delighted to be introduced to a pair that has settled in Queenscliff.
They were in Geoff Graham’s garden, perched close together on and along the branches of a bottlebrush tree.
It appeared at first glance that it was an exposed place they had chosen as their sleeping quarters, but it was not.
They had the protection from the westerly winds by dense shrubbery behind them, and when the sun broke through the clouds, the birds could bask in its warmth.
The first frogmouth had arrived some months ago, Geoff told me, with the second turning up more recently.
Hopefully they will nest there for they have selected a well-protected garden in which to live.
Frogmouths are not owls but belong to the nightjar family, quite closely related to kingfishers kookaburra.
The nest they build is no more than a skimpy platform of dry sticks, usually placed on a horizontal fork. The two eggs are glossy white.
Many years ago, Perc Wood wrote in his Geelong Advertiser Saturday column of the nestlings he found at Pollocksford.
”On climbing up to a deep fork and peeping into the crude nest of sticks I saw the ugliest creatures my eyes had ever beheld . . . scraggy necks outstretched, big eyes and mouths agape showing the hideous yellow of the inner mouth and throat like a big ugly goanna, fit subjects for any nightmare indeed.”
Frogmouths are more often heard than seen, but their call is not always recognised as one made by a bird.
A monotonous, repeated “oom, oom” has a distinctly mechanical sound to it, not unlike that made by a watersprinkler set on a sporting oval.
Mice, centipedes, spiders, frogs and the like are the staple diet for both adults and nestlings. Wildlife information and questions can be sent to ppescott@optusnet.com.au including the