The
frogmouths are a group of nocturnal
birdBirds are winged, bipedal, endothermic , vertebrate animals that lay eggs. There are around 10,000 living species, making them the most numerous tetrapod vertebrates. They inhabit ecosystems across the globe, from the Arctic to the Antarctic. Birds range in size from the Bee Hummingbird to the ...
s related to the
nightjarNightjars are medium-sized nocturnal or crepuscular birds with long wings, short legs and very short bills. They are sometimes referred to as goatsuckers from the mistaken belief that they suck milk from goats . Some New World species are named as nighthawks...
s. They are found from
IndiaIndia, officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the south, the Arabian Sea on the west, and the Bay of Bengal...
across southern
AsiaAsia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.6% of the earth's total surface area and with approximately 4 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population.Asia is traditionally defined as part of the...
to
AustraliaAustralia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the continental mainland , the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans...
.
They are named for their large flattened hooked bills and huge frog-like gape, which they use to take insects. Their flight is weak.
They rest horizontally on branches during the day, camouflaged by their cryptic plumage. Up to three white eggs are laid in the fork of a branch, and are incubated by the female at night and the male in the day.
The three
Podargus species are large frogmouths restricted to Australia and
New GuineaNew Guinea, located north of Australia, is the world's second largest island. It became separated from the Australian mainland when the area now known as the Torres Strait flooded after the last glacial period. The name Papua has long been associated with the island...
, and have massive flat broad bills.
The
frogmouths are a group of nocturnal
birdBirds are winged, bipedal, endothermic , vertebrate animals that lay eggs. There are around 10,000 living species, making them the most numerous tetrapod vertebrates. They inhabit ecosystems across the globe, from the Arctic to the Antarctic. Birds range in size from the Bee Hummingbird to the ...
s related to the
nightjarNightjars are medium-sized nocturnal or crepuscular birds with long wings, short legs and very short bills. They are sometimes referred to as goatsuckers from the mistaken belief that they suck milk from goats . Some New World species are named as nighthawks...
s. They are found from
IndiaIndia, officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the south, the Arabian Sea on the west, and the Bay of Bengal...
across southern
AsiaAsia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.6% of the earth's total surface area and with approximately 4 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population.Asia is traditionally defined as part of the...
to
AustraliaAustralia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the continental mainland , the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans...
.
They are named for their large flattened hooked bills and huge frog-like gape, which they use to take insects. Their flight is weak.
They rest horizontally on branches during the day, camouflaged by their cryptic plumage. Up to three white eggs are laid in the fork of a branch, and are incubated by the female at night and the male in the day.
The three
Podargus species are large frogmouths restricted to Australia and
New GuineaNew Guinea, located north of Australia, is the world's second largest island. It became separated from the Australian mainland when the area now known as the Torres Strait flooded after the last glacial period. The name Papua has long been associated with the island...
, and have massive flat broad bills. They are known to take larger prey such as small vertebrates (frogs, mice, etc.), which are sometimes beaten against a stone before swallowing. The ten
Batrachostomus frogmouths are found in tropical Asia. They have smaller, more rounded bills and are predominantly insectivorous. Both
Podargus and
Batrachostomus have bristles around the base of the bill, and
Batrachostomus has other, longer bristles which may exist to protect the eyes from insect prey. In April 2007, a new species of frogmouth was described from the
Solomon IslandsThe Solomon Islands is a country in Melanesia, east of Papua New Guinea, consisting of nearly one thousand islands. Together they cover a land mass of 28,400 square kilometres . The capital is Honiara, located on the island of Guadalcanal.The Solomon Islands are believed to have been...
and placed in a newly established genus,
Rigidipenna.
Recent research suggests that the two frogmouth groups may not be as closely related as previously thought, and that the Asian species may be separable as a new family, the Batrachostomidae. Usually placed in the
orderIn scientific classification used in biology, the order is# a taxonomic rank used in the classification of organisms. Other well-known ranks are life, domain, kingdom, phylum, class, family, genus, and species, with order fitting in between class and family...
CaprimulgiformesThe Caprimulgiformes is an order of birds that includes a number of birds with global distribution . They are generally insectivorous and nocturnal...
, another recent study has cast doubt on the frogmouths' placement within that order,
and they may be distinct enough to warrant an order of their own,
Podargiformes, as
Gregory MathewsGregory Macalister Mathews CBE was an Australian amateur ornithologist.Mathews made his fortune in mining shares, and moved to England around 1900. He wrote The Birds of Australia , assisted by Tom Iredale.He was Chairman of the British Ornithologists' Club from 1935-1938...
proposed in 1918.
Genus Podargus
- Tawny Frogmouth
The Tawny Frogmouth, Podargus strigoides, is an Australian variety of frogmouth, a type of bird found throughout the Australian mainland, Tasmania and southern New Guinea. The Tawny Frogmouth is often thought to be an owl...
,
Podargus strigoides
Marbled FrogmouthThe Marbled Frogmouth is a species of bird in the Podargidae family.It is found in Australia, Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, and Solomon Islands....
, Podargus ocellatus
Papuan FrogmouthThe Papuan Frogmouth is a species of bird in the Podargidae family.It is found in Australia, Indonesia, and Papua New Guinea.Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests.-References:...
, Podargus papuensis
Genus Batrachostomus
- Large Frogmouth
The Large Frogmouth is a species of bird in the Podargidae family.It is found in Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Thailand....
, Batrachostomus auritus
- Dulit Frogmouth
The Dulit Frogmouth is a species of bird in the Podargidae family.It is found in Indonesia and Malaysia.Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests and subtropical or tropical moist montanes....
, Batrachostomus harterti
- Philippine Frogmouth
The Philippine Frogmouth Batrachostomus septimus is a nocturnal bird that is found throughout the Philippine archipelago. It is common in lowland forests and maturing second growth. Little information is known about the bird since it is active only at night and does not make any calls or songs...
, Batrachostomus septimus
- Gould's Frogmouth
The Gould's Frogmouth is a species of bird in the Podargidae family.It is found in Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, and Thailand.Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests....
, Batrachostomus stellatus
- Sri Lanka Frogmouth
The Sri Lanka Frogmouth, Batrachostomus moniliger, is a relatively small frogmouth. The frogmouths are a group of tropical nocturnal birds related to the nightjars....
, Batrachostomus moniliger
- Hodgson's Frogmouth
The Hodgson's Frogmouth is a species of bird in the Podargidae family.It is found in Bangladesh, Bhutan, China, India, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand, and Vietnam.Its natural habitat is temperate forests.-References:...
, Batrachostomus hodgsoni
- Short-tailed Frogmouth
The Short-tailed Frogmouth is a species of bird in the Podargidae family.It is found in Indonesia and Malaysia....
, Batrachostomus poliolophus
- Javan Frogmouth
The Javan Frogmouth is a species of bird in the Podargidae family. The species is sometimes known as Horsfield's Frogmouth.It is found in Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, and Thailand....
, Batrachostomus javensis
- Sunda Frogmouth
The Sunda Frogmouth is a species of bird, typically placed in the family Podargidae of the order Caprimulgiformes. But recent research suggests that the old order Podargiformes should be re-established, wherein like its closest relatives it might be better placed in a distinct family...
, Batrachostomus cornutus
Genus
Rigidipenna
- Solomon Islands Frogmouth
The Cinnamon Frogmouth Rigidipenna inexpectata, also known as the Solomon Islands Frogmouth, is a bird that was first described in 1901 but not recognized as highly distinct until 2007. A team from the Florida Museum of Natural History collected a specimen on Santa Isabel Island in 1998...
,
Rigidipenna inexpectata
External links