Tawny Frogmouth Chicks

At 23 days old, two Tawny Frogmouth chicks are being hand-reared by keepers and doing well at Paradise Park in Hayle.

This unusual bird of prey is native to Australia, and they are often mistaken for owls. Keeper Sarah-Jayne Cooke explains “The parents have sadly not been very successful in the past at raising their own chicks. So the decision was made to hand-rear these two to give them the best chance of survival. They are just 4 weeks old, but doing very well, and will soon lose the remaining fluffy bits as their adult feathers come through.”

Tawny frogmouths form partnerships for life and roost out in the open relying on camouflage for defence and build their nests in tree forks. At night, tawny frogmouths emit a deep and continuous “oom-oom-oom” grunting at a frequency of about 8 calls in 5 seconds. The steady grunts are often repeated a number of times throughout the night. Tawny frogmouths also make a soft, breathy “whoo-whoo-whoo” call at night of lower intensity but at the same frequency. Before and during breeding season, males and females perform duets consisting of call sequences that either alternate between partners or are performed simultaneously. Tawny frogmouths also make distinctive drumming noises during breeding season.