Laughing kookaburra Laughing kookaburra The laughing kookaburra ("Dacelo novaeguineae") is a bird in the kingfisher subfamily Halcyoninae. It is a large robust kingfisher with a whitish head and a dark eye-stripe. The upperparts are mostly dark brown but there is a mottled light-blue patch on the wing coverts. The underparts are white and the tail is barred with rufous and black. The plumage of the male and female birds is similar. The territorial call is a distinctive laugh that is often delivered by several birds at the same time, and is widely used as a stock sound effect in situations that involve
Invasive species of Australian origin such as the kereru, tui, and kaka. They are a carrier of tuberculosis which they spread to pasture and hence livestock. Control of them has been an ongoing project of regional councils, the Department of Conservation, Forest and Bird, and various other wildlife preservation organizations. Perhaps the best known example of an Australian plant becoming an invasive species is the problematic introduction of "Melaleuca quinquenervia" into Florida. As with all "Melaleuca" species, "M. quinquenervia" seeds prolifically. In the absence of natural predators, it spread throughout southern Florida; at one time it was estimated that it had colonised 12% of southern