The Kookaburra aka the Laughing Kookaburra or Laughing Jackass is one of largest of the Kingfishers, weighing in at a pound or more. It's a carnivore which preys on small mammals, snakes, insects and other birds. Their call, believed to be territorial, can sound like maniacal laughter. They are bold birds having been known to steal meat right off the barbecue. They are native to Eastern Australia.
Spring showers pass through the Painted Hills unit of the John Day Fossil Beds National Monument. Oregon, USA
The largest plovers, the Killdeer is a gound nesting bird about the size of a Robin. They can be found throughout most of North America. They are known to put on a broken wing display to distract threats from their nest site (see my gallary). For threats that don't fall for it, like cows and other large mammals, they will raise their tail feathers and charge the threat trying to alter the course of the threat. They are quite vocal and have been known by such names as the "Noisy Plover" and "Chattering Plover". Tualitin River National Wildlife Refuge, Oregon USA
