Get to know the tawny frogmouth

This much-loved noc­tur­nal bird, recent­ly crowned BirdLife Australia’s Bird of the Year 2025, is one of our most fas­ci­nat­ing native species. Here are five facts to help you get to know it better.

1. Not an owl!

While they may look and behave like owls, tawny frog­mouths are actu­al­ly more close­ly relat­ed to night­jar birds. The give­away is in their feet, they’re weak and lack the curved talons owls use to grab prey. Instead, tawny frog­mouths use their wide beaks to catch insects, worms and small animals.

2. Mas­ters of disguise

Dur­ing the day, tawny frog­mouths rely on their incred­i­ble cam­ou­flage to stay safe. They perch com­plete­ly still on branch­es, stretch­ing their necks and point­ing their beaks upward to mim­ic the look of a bro­ken tree limb. With plumage that blends per­fect­ly into bark, they’re almost impos­si­ble to spot.

3. Clever hunters

At night, the tawny frogmouth’s hunt­ing tricks come to life. They pri­mar­i­ly hunt by pounc­ing from an ele­vat­ed perch to take prey from the ground but are also capa­ble of catch­ing small fly­ing insects in flight. When some­thing big­ger comes along, like a mouse, they grab it with their beak and knock it against a branch before eating.

If they don’t feel like doing any of that, they’ll try their luck by sit­ting with their beaks open, let­ting the moon­light illu­mi­nate the vibrant yel­low inte­ri­or, which acts as a nat­ur­al lure for insects. 

4. Found almost everywhere

From Tas­ma­nia to the trop­ics, tawny frog­mouths can be found in almost every habi­tat except dense rain­forests and tree­less deserts. They’re a com­mon sight in parks and gar­dens across Aus­tralia, prov­ing how well they’ve adapt­ed to liv­ing near people.

5. Par­ent­ing partnership

Both par­ents share nest­ing duties. The male keeps the eggs warm dur­ing the day while both take turns at night, using a sim­ple stick plat­form in a tree fork.

So next time you hear an ​“oom-oom” in the night, look close­ly – you might just spot a tawny frog­mouth blend­ing per­fect­ly into the trees. 

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