# Tawny Frogmouth

*Podargus strigoides*

When threatened, they straighten their bodies and point their beaks upward, perfectly mimicking a dead tree branch to hide from predators.

- **Taxonomy:** Animalia › Chordata › Aves › Podargiformes › Podargidae › Podargus
- **IUCN Red List status:** Least Concern
- **Population trend:** stable
- **Biome:** forest
- **Habitat:** Open woodlands, eucalyptus forests, and urban parks with mature trees.
- **Diet:** Large nocturnal insects, spiders, snails, and occasionally small mammals or reptiles.
- **Range:** Australia, Tasmania
- **Size:** 34 to 53 cm in length; wingspan up to 90 cm.
- **Lifespan:** 10-15 years
- **Active:** nocturnal
- **Threats:** Habitat clearance, secondary poisoning from pesticides, and collisions with vehicles while hunting.
- **Safe to approach?:** Harmless and docile. If you see one, keep a respectful distance to avoid breaking its camouflage stress-response. If found on the ground during the day, it may be injured; contact a local wildlife rescue. Keep cats indoors at night to protect them.

## About

The tawny frogmouth ( Podargus strigoides ) is a species of frogmouth native to and found throughout the Australian mainland and Tasmania. Tawny frogmouths are big-headed, stocky birds often mistaken for owls due to their nocturnal habits and similar colouring. The tawny frogmouth is sometimes incorrectly referred to as "mopoke", a common name for the southern boobook, whose call is often confused with the tawny frogmouth's.

## Sources

- Plate: https://gaia-dex.com/species/7b24cd53-1093-4944-90aa-e658f397de05
- iNaturalist: https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/19721
- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Podargus strigoides
- Conservation status: IUCN Red List category, as recorded by Gaia-Dex
- Photo: https://inaturalist-open-data.s3.amazonaws.com/photos/350093729/medium.png (Sockrosma, CC-BY, via iNaturalist)

Habitat, diet, size and similar notes are AI-written summaries; check them against the linked sources before relying on them.