Tawny Frogmouths......

[Scotty45]

These guys have taken up residence near my home in Victoria. They do a great job of blending into their environment, by appearing to mimic a broken tree branch.
A lot of people confuse them with Owls, but they are more closely related to the Nightjar family.

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[Kathy G]

Lovely photos and a very interesting bird

 

[Wildlife_by_Brett]

I love Tawnys, such chilled out birds

 

[Joe B]

Nice find

 

[Yezdi]

Great capture

 

[Callie]

On my first night in Oz, I found one in a tree opposite my son's house. I was thrilled out of my boots! Saw and shot Marbled FM too in the bush.

 

[Neil H.]

Hi Scotty! I'm in Covid lockdown in Ocean Grove and only joined this forum today. I'm itching to get out with some new gear. Lovely Tawnys!

 

[Scotty45]

Hi Neil. Welcome to the forums. I'm an ex Geelong guy myself. Came up here for 2 weeks holiday in 1982, & stayed.
Glad you liked my shots.

 

[soundbyte]

We get the Frogmouths here occasionally, but can at times be very difficult to sight as they blend in so well.
Posted with permission, thanks @Scotty45 .

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[Scotty45]

I think these guys would look right at home in a Harry Potter movie .

 

[Callie]

We get the Frogmouths here occasionally, but can at times be very difficult to sight as they blend in so well.
Posted with permission, thanks @Scotty45 .
View attachment 2488

Butt-kick sighting, and open eyes!

 

[Stevie n]

Soon as saw that bird I thought similar to a night jar! are they nocturnal? interesting.

 

[soundbyte]

The 2 in the photo I posted were part of a family of 3.
While they were around I got about 80 shots of them over a number of days.

 

[Scotty45]

Hi Stevie. Thanks for your comment.
Yes, they are nocturnal. They spend the daylight hours sleeping on a tree branch trying to blend in to the surroundings. Mother nature has provided them with feathers that resembles tree bark. They can be hard to find.

 

[Cristobal]

Very astonishing birds and beautiful pictures!