Dacelo leachii
Silhouette: Craig Dylke · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~90% in a week >90%
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 |
Likely
About 60% of wildlife watchers report a Blue-winged Kookaburra sighting in Kakadu National Park on a given day, based on 1,156 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 10th most-seen of the 186 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 90%, and over a week to over 90%, if each day is a fresh chance.
March
In that month about 90% of wildlife watchers report a Blue-winged Kookaburra in Kakadu National Park on a given day, against about 40% in April, the lowest month. That is one of Kakadu National Park's wettest months, with about 170 mm of rain against almost none in August. February has too few records to rate.
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.
Yes
Of the 4 parks where we can rate Blue-winged Kookaburra sightings, Kakadu National Park has the highest daily chance: about 60%. Next come Nitmiluk National Park (Australia, about 40%) and Litchfield National Park (Australia, about 40%).
Same family: Alcedinidae
The closest relatives of the Blue-winged Kookaburra that you can see in Kakadu National Park (family Alcedinidae, Kingfishers) are Forest Kingfisher (about 50%), Azure Kingfisher (about 30%) and Sacred Kingfisher (about 20%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Blue-winged Kookaburra is recorded against all the birds logged in Kakadu National Park (1,156 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.
