- Kookaburras
Common name for a squat, long-tailed Australian kingfisher. It is one of the largest birds of the family Alcedinidae (kingfisher family). Because of its loud, maniacal-sounding call, it is also known as the laughing jackass, or jackass kingfisher. The kookaburra has dull plumage and is about the size of a raven. It feeds on snails, lizards, young birds, and large insects. The kookaburra lays its pure white eggs in a burrow carved out of a termite nest.