For 18 days we're adding a new Birdorable bird every day as part of our Birdorable Bonanza 2010. Today's bird is the Laughing Kookaburra! The Laughing Kookaburra is the largest species of the kingfisher family. These brown and white birds are named for their unusual call, which sounds like they are laughing: "koo-koo-koo-ka-ka-ka!" Although the species is native to eastern Australia, the unique call of the Laughing Kookaburra is often used by Hollywood as a sound effect in jungle scenes - no matter which continent. Have a listen to the call and see if you recognize it!

Laughing Kookaburras are fairly common within their range, often found in suburban or urban settings. They will even become habituated to humans. Last month one Laughing Kookaburra got into trouble after eating too many handout sausages. The bird became so overweight that it was unable to fly! Fortunately the bird was rescued and brought in to "bootcamp where it was expected to recover after being put on a diet and exercise plan.

A Wild and Free Laughing Kookaburra by ianmichaelthomas

Tomorrow's bird is a blue bird that lives in western parts of the United States. Can you guess what it is?

We've added our fifth Birdorable kingfisher and one of my favorite birds: the Pied Kingfisher. This cute black-and-white bird can be found from sub-Saharan Africa to India and China. It is an excellent hunter, skilled at hovering over the water and diving down to catch its prey. It has learned to eat in flight and hunt in both salt and freshwater, allowing the bird to hunt over sea or other places without perches, something that other kingfishers cannot do.

Photo by tj.haslam

We've seen these birds a few times on vacation and I loved watching them hover and diving down. They are quite abundant (the most common kingfisher throughout their range) and very approachable, allowing even us to take nice pictures. ;)

We saw this above one in The Gambia. Isn't it beautiful?

If you like this cutie you may also like our other Birdorable kingfishers.

The Common Kingfisher has been crowned Germany's Bird of the Year 2009 by NABU, the German BirdLife organization. NABU has been nominating the 'Bird of the Year' since 1971 to focus people's attention to a particular species and its habitat. The first bird was the Peregrine Falcon, which, thanks to several conservation projects, is no longer on the list of threatened birds in Germany. The Common Kingfisher itself isn't endangered in Germany — there are between 5,600 and 8,000 breeding pairs in Germany — but conservationists are hoping the added attention may results in increased protection for its dwindling habitat, which is rivers. Kingfishers need clear water and natural river banks to nest.

Photo by Sergey Yeliseev

Photo by xnir

The Green Kingfisher is one of three kingfishers found in the United States, but at 7.5 inches long it is much smaller than the Belted and Ringed Kingfisher. It is also very rare in this country and can only be found in the south of Texas. It lives throughout Central and South America as far south as central Argentina. Unlike the other two kingfishers, Green Kingfishers also fly low over the water's surface and can be found perching on low branches. The Green Kingfisher was first described in 1788 by the German naturalist Johann Friedrich Gmelin (pictures right), who gave it the latin name Chloroceryle americana. Here's a picture of a female Green Kingfisher, which lacks the broad chestnut breast band that males have, like the one on the mangrove in the picture above.

Photo by Lip Kee

Unfortunately I have never seen a Green Kingfisher. Have you?

The Belted Kingfisher is one of three new kingfishers that we've added to Birdorable. This cutie can be found across North America, Central America and South America as far south as Argentina. I love Kingfishers, and we saw many Belted Kingfishers on our vacation in Florida. We were staying in Key Largo and every time we drove Route 1 back to the mainland we saw dozens of these guys sitting on the telephone wires looking down at the water. When they spot a fish that they like, they'll dive into the water head first to grab it. Did you know that many Kingfishers, including this one, nests underground? A pair will dig a tunnel as long as 8 feet in river banks. The tunnel slopes upward to keep water from entering the nest. Human activity has actually expanded their breeding range; road building and the digging of gravel pits has created new banks where kingfishers can nest.

Photo by Rick Leche

Photo by Rick Leche

Males and females both have shaggy crests and are colored blue and white. Females have rufous across the upper belly. This is our totally cute Birdorable version of the Belted Kingfisher!