Dacelo leachii
Silhouette: Craig Dylke · PhyloPic
In 3 days <5%
The blue-winged kookaburra (Dacelo leachii) is a large species of kingfisher native to northern Australia and southern New Guinea. Measuring around 40 cm (16 in), it is slightly smaller than the more familiar laughing kookaburra. It has cream-coloured upper- and underparts barred with brownish markings. It has blue wings and brown shoulders and blue rump. It is sexually dimorphic, with a blue tail in the male, and a rufous tail with blackish bars in the female.
The blue-winged kookaburra was first collected by Sir Joseph Banks in 1770, but was initially overlooked and confused with the laughing kookaburra, and was finally officially described by Nicholas Aylward Vigors and Thomas Horsfield in 1826, its specific name commemorating British zoologist William Elford Leach. It is one of four members of the genus Dacelo which are commonly known as kookaburras. Alternative common names include barking or howling jackass, or Leach's kookaburra.
The number of subspecies is unclear - with four or five recognised by authorities currently. Some authorities split the population in New Guinea into two subspecies, while other merge them together. Previously, others have also proposed... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kakadu National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 2 | Nitmiluk National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 3 | Litchfield National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 4 | Daintree National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia |
Rare
Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Blue-winged Kookaburra sighting in Daintree National Park on a given day, based on 12 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 176th most-seen of the 208 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to under 5%, if each day is a fresh chance.
Any time of year
In every month with enough records, under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Blue-winged Kookaburra in Daintree National Park on a given day, so our monthly data shows no clear season.
Between 7 and 10 am
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Blue-winged Kookaburra sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
4th of 4
Of the 4 parks where we can rate Blue-winged Kookaburra sightings, Daintree National Park ranks 4th at under 5%. The best odds are in Kakadu National Park (Australia, about 60%), Nitmiluk National Park (Australia, about 40%) and Litchfield National Park (Australia, about 40%).
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Blue-winged Kookaburra is recorded against all the birds logged in Daintree National Park (12 verified sightings from 2019 to 2026), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.
