PBS Animal Spotlight: Laughing Kookaburra

The Laughing Kookaburra gets its name from the laughing call it makes early in the morning, also referred to as the “Bushman’s Alarm Clock”.

Our Kookaburra’s name is Kinta, which means “laughter” in Aboriginal. We got her from Tracy Aviary when she was hatched as an egg and she was raised to be an ambassador for her species. 

Kookaburras are the largest member of the kingfisher family but they eat almost anything except fish. They eat rodents, lizards and even snakes.

Most kingfishers are brightly colored, but these guys live in the forest so their coloration is meant for camouflage.

They’re beloved by the Australian people because they eat venomous snakes, and there are more species of venomous snakes in Australia than anywhere in the world. After they grab the snake, they bring it up to a tree and they tenderize it by smacking it on rocks or branches and slurp it down like a spaghetti noodle.

Kinta can be seen here at Turtle Bay Exploration Park in Wildlife Woods or our many animal shows in the Summer and Winter.

You can help support Turtle Bay’s efforts by sponsoring this or any of our other animal ambassadors through our Adopt-An-Animal program.

As seen on KIXE-TV Channel 9