Classification and Species
There are four known species of kookaburra found in Australia, New Guinea, and the Aru Islands.
All kookaburras are sexually dimorphic, but this is only obvious in the Blue-winged and the Rufous-bellied, where males have noticeably blue tails and females have rufous (reddish-brown) tails.
- Rufous-bellied Kookaburra (Dacelo gaudichaud). (lowland New Guinea, Saibai island)
- Spangled Kookaburra (Dacelo tyro). (Aru Islands, southern New Guinea)
- Blue-winged Kookaburra (Dacelo leachii). (northern Australia, southern New Guinea)
- Laughing Kookaburra (Dacelo novaeguineae). (native to eastern Australia, introduced to southwest Australia)
Unusual for close relatives, the Laughing and Blue-winged species are direct competitors in the area where their ranges overlap. This suggests that the two species, though having common stock, evolved in isolation (possibly during a period when Australia and New Guinea were more distant – see Australia-New Guinea) and were only brought back into contact in relatively recent geological times. It is the largest kingfisher
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