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The Blue-winged Kookaburra is a large kingfisher with a big square head and a long bill. It has a distinctive pale eye. The head is off-white with brown streaks, the shoulders are sky blue and it has a uniform blue rump.The throat is plain white and the underparts are white with faint scalloped orange-brown bars.The back is mid brown. Males have a dark blue tail while females' tails are barred red-brown or blackish. Otherwise the sexes are similar. The legs and feet are grey and the bill is dark above and yellowish below. Juveniles have paler streaks on the head with darker mottlings. There is slight geographical variation with plumage more buff in north-western Australia (race clifoni).
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Adults measure 38 to 42 cm in length and weigh between 260 to 330 grams. They lack the dark mask of the laughing kookaburra, have more blue in the wing, and striking white eyes. The bill is quite heavy. Juveniles can be identified by their more pronounced brown bars and marks, and their eyes are brown for the first two years.
This species is found in open savannah woodland, Melaleuca swamps, and farmlands, including sugarcane plantations.
The blue-winged kookaburra's range extends from southern New Guinea and northern Australia to Brisbane in southern Queensland, across the Top End, and down the Western Australian coast as far as Shark Bay.
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They live in family groups of up to 12 individuals and are known for their maniacal cackling or barking calls.
The call of the blue-winged kookaburra is a distinctive and loud cackle or barking sound.
A cooperative breeder, the blue-winged kookaburra nests in tree hollows, with a breeding pair assisted by helper birds. They lay three to four white, slightly shiny eggs, and chicks are altricial, requiring extensive care post-hatching.
Their diet varies seasonally, including insects, lizards, frogs, crayfish, scorpions, spiders, fish, earthworms, small birds, and rodents. They are opportunistic and may even snatch insects fleeing from bushfires.
The blue-winged kookaburra is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. However, they face predation from red goshawks and rufous owls, and adults are at risk of vehicle collisions. Nests may be raided by olive pythons, quolls, and goannas.
