Why Do Kookaburras Laugh? The Famous Call Explained

The laugh is a territorial chorus

The laughing kookaburra lives in family groups that hold the same territory all year. Like the songs of many other birds, its laugh marks the borders of that territory. A group that calls loudly and in unison shows rivals that it is present, numerous and ready to defend its patch.

Neighbors respond in kind. When one family starts, the next group often answers, and the calls can pass from territory to territory across the bush. Neighboring groups tend to take turns rather than calling over each other, which helps each family hear the others and judge their size.

Calling increases in the two to three months before the breeding season, which runs from about August to January. At this time males are more aggressive and borders are tested more often, so the choruses become longer and more frequent.

How a kookaburra chorus sounds

The call has a clear structure. One bird starts with a low, hiccuping chuckle, then throws back its head and breaks into a loud, rolling laugh, often written as “koo-koo-koo-koo-kaa-kaa-kaa.” Other members of the family quickly join in, and the sound rises and falls as several birds overlap.

Researchers describe several parts in a full chorus: a “kooa” note, a cackle, a rapid rolling “oo-oo-oo,” loud “ha-ha” notes and a closing phrase that differs between males and females. A kookaburra can produce two sounds at the same time thanks to the structure of its voice box (syrinx), which gives the call its rich, layered quality.

The laugh is one of the most recognizable sounds of eastern Australia, and it carries a long way through open woodland. For other animals famous for their calls, see our list of the loudest animals.

Why do kookaburras laugh at dawn and dusk?

Kookaburras can call at any time of day, but the biggest choruses come early in the morning and again around sunset. This regular dawn chorus gave the bird its old nickname, the “bushman’s alarm clock,” because people camping in the bush were often woken by it.

Dawn and dusk are good times for territorial calling in many birds. The air is often calm, so sound travels well, and the birds are not yet busy hunting. Starting the day with a chorus reminds the neighbors that the family survived the night and still holds its ground.

A popular Australian belief says that kookaburras laugh more before rain. There is no scientific evidence that the birds can forecast the weather. Their calling follows the time of day, the season and the behavior of the neighbors, and any link with rain is most likely coincidence.

Family groups and helpers

A kookaburra family is built around a breeding pair, which usually stays together for life. The pair is often joined by up to five grown offspring from earlier seasons. These helpers defend the territory, incubate the eggs and feed the chicks.

The group chorus depends on this cooperation. Calling together takes coordination, and scientists think the shared chorus may strengthen the bond between the breeding pair and the family. A large, well-coordinated chorus also advertises a strong group, which may discourage rivals from trying to take over.

Young kookaburras are not born knowing the full laugh. After leaving the nest they practice with the adults, and at first their attempts sound broken and incomplete. After about two weeks of practice they can join the family chorus properly.

Other kookaburra calls

The laugh is only part of the kookaburra’s vocabulary. Birds give a short “kooaa” call when they are with other family members, loud squawks when they are begging or acting submissive, and a deep “chuck” when adults bring food to the chicks. Each sound has a different role in family life.

The laughing kookaburra has a much larger set of calls than its relative, the blue-winged kookaburra of northern Australia, whose calls are mainly harsh barks and hiccups. Despite the name “kingfisher,” kookaburras rarely fish, as explained in Is a kookaburra a kingfisher?

The kookaburra call in films

The laugh is so dramatic that filmmakers have used it for nearly a century. Recordings were edited into the Tarzan films of the 1930s to make jungle scenes sound wild, and the call has been reused in countless jungle and adventure scenes since. It often appears in films set in Africa, South America or Southeast Asia, where no kookaburras live.

In Australia, the kookaburra is a much-loved national symbol. It is the subject of the children’s round “Kookaburra Sits in the Old Gum Tree,” written by Marion Sinclair in 1934. To learn how the birds fuel all that calling, read What do kookaburras eat?