Birds of Birdland: Frogmouth

One of the newer birds in Birdland, the Frogmouth, is a bird that might not be familiar to some throughout the US and UK. That is because the Frogmouth is native to India, southern Asia, and Australia. These beautiful nocturnal birds are closely related to the Nightjars and have flat hooked bills and a frog-like gape, which they use to eat insects. Throughout the day time, they will rest on branches, relying on their plumage to camouflage them to predators. They love forks in tree branches, and this is where you will find them the most.

The largest of the Frogmouth species is pretty much restricted to New Guinea and Australia and have extremely large, broad bills, They are usually known to take in larger prey, such as frogs, mice, and so on, and they are known to sometimes beat their prey against a stone before they swallow it. There are actuall ten different types of Frogmouth species that are found in tropical Asia, and have smaller more rounded bills. Since they mainly eat insects, their bills are not nearly as impressive as the larger Frogmouth birds are. Both the large and smaller Frogmouth birds have bristles around the base of their bill, with the smaller of the species having longer bristles that are thought to help protect their eyes from the insects that they prey upon.

In 2007, a whole new species of Frogmouth was found on the Solomon Islands and has since established a whole new genus of them. Of course, new research has found that the Frogmouth species in Asia might actually be seperable as a whole new bird family instead of being as closely related to the others as once thought.

It doesn't matter what their family tree is like, the Frogmouth is a very unique bird that has some wonderfully unique characteristics. From their odd bills to the larger ones that will eat small rodents, the Frogmouth will make a welcome addition to the Birdland family and to any cage in the game!