November 1 - 30, 2025: Issue 648

 

Tawny Frogmouths in Pittwater

The Tawny Frogmouth (Podargus strigoides) are nocturnal birds (night birds). During the day, they perch on tree branches, often low down, camouflaged as part of the tree.

This pair, photographed in our yard on Thursday November 27, have lived here for years - we hear them more often than we see them. They communicate with a soft, deep and continuous low 'oom oom oom'. They will make a loud hissing noise when threatened. 

Tawny Frogmouths are sedentary and pairs nest in the same area each year. They mate for life.

Tawny Frogmouths are often confused with owls, but are actually more closely related to the nightjars. Owls hunt by grasping prey in their strong talons. Tawny Frogmouths catch their prey using their beaks. Their feet are weak and lack the curved talons of owls. The eyes of Tawny Frogmouths are to the side of the face, while the eyes of owls are fully forward on their face.

Tawny Frogmouths have a distinctive triangular-shaped beak, wide at the base and coming to a hooked point, with feathery bristles around the top of the beak. They have a strong bite and sharp edges to the beak, which is larger than most other birds, relative to body size. 

The general plumage of the Tawny Frogmouth is silver-grey, slightly paler below, streaked and mottled with black and rufous. A second plumage phase also occurs, with birds being russet-red. The eye is yellow in both forms, and the wide, heavy bill is olive-grey to blackish. South-eastern birds are larger than birds from the north. Size Range: 34 cm to 53 cm.

The Tawny Frogmouth can be seen in almost any habitat type (except the denser rainforests and treeless deserts), including heath, forest and woodlands, urban and rural areas.

Tawny Frogmouths have a regular breeding season, but birds in more arid areas may breed in response to heavy rains. Both sexes incubate the eggs. The male sits during the day, but both sexes share sitting at night. The nest is a loose platform of sticks, which is usually placed on a horizontal forked tree branch. Normally only one brood is raised in a season, but birds from the south may have two.

Breeding Season: August to January in temperate Australia

Clutch size: 2 to 3

When first hatched, chicks have thick, fluffy white down. By two weeks they develop pale-grey down and pin feathers start to emerge on their wings and tail. At four weeks their adult feathers are emerging, and they leave the nest and perch. By five weeks they are fledged and learning to fly and hunt. The younger the chick, the shorter the tail.

Tawny frogmouth with two 32-day-old chicks, Melbourne. Photo: Alan U. Kennington

The bulk of the Tawny Frogmouth's diet is made up of nocturnal insects, worms, slugs and snails. Small mammals, reptiles, frogs and birds are also eaten. The bulk of their hunting is done in the first few hours after dusk and just before dawn. 

Most food is obtained by pouncing to the ground from a tree or other elevated perch. Some prey items, such as moths, are caught in flight, which has led to many unfortunate instances of birds being hit by cars while chasing insects illuminated in the beam of the headlights.

Tawny frogmouths in Pittwater pics: A J Guesdon, 2025.