Tawny Frogmouth
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ID#22
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Animal ReportClassification: Aves (Birds)
Endangered Status: Least Concern Habitat: The tawny frogmouth lives in open land with trees (ex. parks, farms). The tawny frogmouth can grow to be 13 1/2 – 21in, and can weigh from 6oz – 24oz. Sometimes, in zoos, the tawny frogmouth is fed too much, and becomes overweight, weighing up to 3.1lbs. One of their main defenses is their camouflage. They have gray feathers that are molted with red and brown, so that they can blend in with tree bark. The stiff tufts of feathers around their beak make their face look like the broken end of a tree branch. They have big, wide mouths and yellow eyes. Tawny frogmouths are nocturnal animals. They do not migrate. The usually live in families, and almost always live in pairs. They are very alert when they sleep, and when they hear a predator, they will flatten down all their feathers and just look through the slits that they make their eyes. When they hunt in the night, unlike most owls, they wait patiently on a tree branch and blend in. They wait for their prey to come near the tree, swoop down on them, and catch them in their mouth. If the prey is not dead by the time they get back to the tree, they are subjected to being beaten to death on a tree branch. The tawny frogmouth is mainly insectivorous, but will also eat scorpions, frogs, lizards, and snakes. Tawny frogmouth pairs stay together until one dies. They breed from August to December and usually have owlets once a year. In preparation for the owlets, they male and female line their nest with soft green leaves to give padding to the nest. They usually keep the same nest and just make small repairs. They can have 2-3 owlets a year. It takes the eggs 25 days to hatch. Both the male and the female sit on the eggs to incubate them, and they also both help feed the chicks. An interesting fact about the tawny frogmouth is that they have anisodactyl feet. This means that one toe faces backward and the other three face forwards. Other owl’s feet are much stronger than the tawny frogmouth’s, and that is why they catch their prey in their large beak, rather than in their talons, like most other owls. Another cool thing about the tawny frogmouth is that they have extremely good nighttime vision and hearing. |