Kookaburra larger group known as "kingfishers", kookaburras are not closely associated with water. The genus "Dacelo" was introduced by the English zoologist William Elford Leach in 1815. The type species is the laughing kookaburra. The name "Dacelo" is an anagram of "Alcedo", the Latin word for a kingfisher. A molecular study published in 2017 found that the genus "Dacelo", as currently defined, is paraphyletic. The shovel-billed kookaburra in the monotypic genus "Clytoceyx" sits within "Dacelo". Four species of kookaburra can be found in Australia, New Guinea, and the Aru Islands. Kookaburras are sexually dimorphic. This is noticeable in the blue-winged and
Kookaburra (aircraft) Kookaburra (aircraft) Kookaburra was a Westland Widgeon light aircraft registered G-AUKA. When Sir Charles Kingsford Smith and his crew in the Southern Cross disappeared during the "Coffee Royal" incident in 1929, pilot Keith Anderson and mechanic Bob Hitchcock flew in "Kookaburra" to search for the men. "Kookaburra" departed Richmond, New South Wales on 10 April and headed for the north of Western Australia via Broken Hill, Maree, Oodnadatta and Alice Springs. "Kookaburra" was forced to land in the Tanami desert when the push rod on a valve on number two cylinder loosened, causing a loss of power. Hitchcock adjusted the