Large Frogmouth

Overview

The large frogmouth (Batrachostomus auritus) is a species of bird in the family Podargidae, found across parts of Southeast Asia. It is currently classified as vulnerable on the IUCN Red List due to habitat destruction.

Identification

• Considerably larger than other members of its genus, reaching a length of about 42 cm.
• Upper parts are mainly chestnut and blackish-brown, barred and spotted with white and buff; underparts are dull brown or pale rufous.
• Features a horn-coloured beak with a darker tip, a yellow gape, and dull yellow legs.
• Vocalises at night with a voice described as a repeated "deep hollow-sounding tremolo" or a "series of four to eight loud, liquid trills".

Habitat

The species occurs in subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests in Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Thailand. Its range extends from southern Thailand through Sabah, Sarawak, and peninsular Malaysia to Kalimantan, Sumatra, and Brunei. It inhabits primary lowland forest but is also found in secondary forest and areas of regenerating growth, from sea level to at least 250 m and perhaps up to 1000 m.

Diet

It hunts by night, foraging on the ground and in the canopy for insects such as grasshoppers and cicadas. During the day, it roosts on a branch or hidden in a hole, either singly or possibly in pairs.

Did you know?

The nest is a simple circular cushion of down attached to a slender branch, upon which the single egg is balanced and held in place only by the incubating parent crouching lengthwise along the branch.