Kookaburras cohabitation

Curatordylan

Curatordylan

Member
Hello,

Does anyone have experience with the cohabitation of kookaburras both (Dacelo novaeguineae & leachii)
Me and my team are working towards a future mixed species aviary for Australia and wanted to have some ideas as to what species we could keep I’ve seen them with different species before. We have a couple of frogmouths (Podargus strigoides) behind the scenes we would love to finally place them in this possible aviary if it al goes well.

I would love to hear from you all
kind regards!
 
Not sure I have ever seen kookaburras mixed with other avian species, but I think they
would probably do well with echidnas or maybe parma wallabys?
 
Hi yes we have suggested to make the aviary available for smaller wallabies species like the Bennett, swamp or Parma. Last week I was in Praha zoo for a meeting there they keep there kookaburras with night herons and cormorants and there I learned that the Roseate cockatoo has been kept with kookaburras in a couple of facilities around Europe.
 
For birds, Prague definitely has the best example with (this was the setup when the aviary just opened, I don’t know if some mixes didn’t work)
  • masked lapwing
  • Common bronzewing
  • Australian magpie
  • Straw-necked ibis
  • Pink-eared duck
  • Tawny frogmouth
  • blue-faced honey-eater
  • Blue-winged kookaburra
Australian-brushed turkey have also been mixed (walsrode, Pairi daiza) but they are hard to acquire I assume
I have also read that crested pigeons have been mixed.
Having chicks would obviously cause some problems.

For mammals the ones you mention are the most probable with perhaps the dusky pademelon also being a candidate.
 
Contact Adelaide Zoo - they have at least one and I think two kookas in a densely planted walkthrough aviary with other residents including various duck and pigeon species, bowerbirds, eclectus parrots, lyrebirds and I believe still a blind echidna.

Melbourne Zoo previously kept blue-winged kookaburras with other predatory birds - a Pacific baza, grey butcherbird and tawny frogmouths if I remember the exhibit correctly.
 
The National Aquarium in Baltimore has free-flying birds in their Australia: Wild Extremes exhibit, which includes Kookaburras mixed with other birds. Not sure if they are all out at once, but I did see several birds out along with the Kookaburra, such as the Pied Imperial Pigeon and Fawn-breasted Bowerbird.

From my May 2024 species list:
Astrotom3000 said:
  • Blue-faced Honeyeater (Entomyzon cyanotis)
  • Budgerigar (Melopsittacus undulatus)
  • Cockatiel (Nymphicus hollandicus)
  • Coconut Lorikeet (Trichoglossus haematodus)
  • Eastern Rosella (Platycercus eximius)
  • Fawn-breasted Bowerbird (Chlamydera cerviniventris)
  • Laughing Kookaburra (Dacelo novaeguineae)
  • Masked Lapwing (Vanellus miles)
  • Mulga Parrot (Psephotellus varius)
  • Pied Imperial Pigeon (Ducula bicolor)
  • Rainbow Lorikeet (Trichoglossus moluccanus)
Click to expand...
 
Thank you for your list.

Last
Week when I was there the Australian magpie weren’t there on the exhibit anymore I asked about it but because of breeding these aren’t really a good match.
We were indeed contacting zoos to find some bushturkeys but yes there not many in Europe and we don’t wanna look overseas for now.
 
Monde Sauvage in Belgium has (or had, this species list is a bit outdated) Laughing kookaburras in their walkthrough aviary together with Greater flamingo, Black-crowned night heron, Eurasian spoonbill, African spoonbill, Western cattle egret, Mandarin duck, Australian wood duck, Ruddy shelduck, European white stork and African sacred ibis.

Parc des Oiseaux in France has Blue-winged kookaburra with Kea and Laughing kookaburra with Little corella (or the other way around)

Duisburg in Germany has held them with Tasmanian long-nosed potoroos, Bush thick-knees, NZ shovelers and Lesser sulphur-crested cockatoos

Bird Paradise in Singapore has them in their Australian and New Guinean mega-aviaries. Although we can assume they behave differently in such a large space in comparison to a smaller aviary

Lory loft: Crowned and Pheasant pigeons, Hill mynas, Francolins and Peacock-pheasants, Luzon hornibill. Various cockatoos including Blue-eyed, Salmon-crested and Citron-crested. Various lories including Black-capped, Purple-naped, Dusky and Brown. Various lorikeets including Red-collared, Coconut and Marigold.

Australian outback: Magpie and Cape Barren goose, Ibises, Lapwings, Various ducks, Tawny frogmouth, Blue-faced honeyeater, Various cockatoos, Galah, Eclectus, Lorikeets and Wallabies

Full species lists:
Bird Paradise species list 2025 [Bird Paradise]

Conclusion: You can hold them with most Wading birds, Ducks, Parrots, Frogmouths and mammals. So basically anything either similarly sized or bigger than the Kookaburra
 
Curatordylan said:
Hello,

Does anyone have experience with the cohabitation of kookaburras both (Dacelo novaeguineae & leachii)
Me and my team are working towards a future mixed species aviary for Australia and wanted to have some ideas as to what species we could keep I’ve seen them with different species before. We have a couple of frogmouths (Podargus strigoides) behind the scenes we would love to finally place them in this possible aviary if it al goes well.

I would love to hear from you all
kind regards!
Click to expand...
CGSwans said:
Contact Adelaide Zoo - they have at least one and I think two kookas in a densely planted walkthrough aviary with other residents including various duck and pigeon species, bowerbirds, eclectus parrots, lyrebirds and I believe still a blind echidna.
Click to expand...

I'm a bit late to the party but I can confirm Adelaide does keep Blue-Winged Kookaburra with other species, including a male superb lyrebird, a male satin bowerbird, wonga pigeons, white-headed pigeons, torresian imperial-pigeons, bush-stone curlews, buff-banded rails, a blind echidna, tawny frogmouths, radjah shelducks, and a channel-billed cuckoo.

They've also previously kept Laughing Kookaburra with tawny frogmouths.

DaLilFishie said:
Hartley's Crocodile Adventures cohabitates Blue-winged Kookaburra in their predatory birds aviary with Bush Stone-curlew, Australasian Swamphen, Pacific Baza, frogmouth (don't remember whether Tawny or Papuan), and various owls.
Click to expand...

From a recent visit I can confirm this mix is still active, with both Tawny and Papuan frogmouths, and barn and boobook owls along with the species you've listed.

Gorge Wildlife Park also keeps at least one laughing kookaburra with a nankeen kestrel and boobook owl, with another aviary keeping blue-winged kookaburra with tawny frogmouths, barn owls, and chestnut rails
 
You may refer to Bird Paradise Species List 2025. The Laughing Kookaburras are in the Australian Outback aviary. And the Blue-winged Kookaburras are in Mysterious Papua and Lory Loft aviaries. Having said that animals are individuals with their unique personalities and characters, and so may or may not get along together!
 
Featherdale currently keeps Laughing Kookaburras with king parrots, Musk Lorikeets, Apostlebirds, Noisy Friarbirds, and a lyrebird in one aviary, and with Rainbow Lorikeets, Buff-banded Rails, White-winged Chough and Bush Stone Curlew in another aviary.
They also keep Blue-winged Kookaburra mixed with Black-necked Storks, Masked Lapwings, Chestnut Rail, Plumed Whistling Ducks, Pheasant Coucal, Red-collared Lorikeets, Blue-faced Honeyeaters, Channel-billed Cuckoo and cattle egrets.
Featherdale has previously kept kookaburras with Brolgas, an Australian Raven, spoonbills, Nankeen Night Herons, Radjah Shelducks, a Magpie-lark, both Crimson and Eastern Rosellas, Grey-crowned Babblers, Nankeen Kestrel, Beach Stone Curlew, bowerbirds, Tawny Frogmouths, Banded Lapwings...

Basically they are fine with anything larger than a medium-sized to large honeyeater. Just don't expect to breed anything smaller than the kooka's.
 
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