By Declan Garvey and Esther Eaton
Top Story: “Hunter in the Hot Seat”
Secondary: “Dispatch Website Tip of the Day”—Users can now turn off/on notifications of likes and replies to comments in the comment section. If it works, this Fanzine’s foundation is beginning to wobble.
Assignment: Your prediction for the Hunter Biden story.
More "tips" are up today on The Morning Dispatch.
But I am still not a "member."
Today's special animal friend is the laughing kookaburra, Dacelo novaeguineae.
Here is a darling little song:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ndBlkINdXmU
Back to the laughing kookaburra, which is in the largest member of the kingfisher family and is native to Australia and New Guinea. It is a large, robust bird, around 18 inches high and weighing around a pound. Females are somewhat larger than males. Both sexes have a whitish head with a brown eye-stripe, a dark brown back with some light blue mottling on the wings, and cream-colored underparts.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SqQ4_6gGEfs
They live in dry eucalyptus forest, mixed woodlands, city parks, and gardens (or what we call "yards" in the U.S.). They are sedentary and monogamous. A mated pair will establish a nest in a tree-hole or abandoned tree-termite nest. The female usually lays three eggs. An unusual feature of kookaburra life is that the adult pair is usually accompanied by up to five of their adolescent/young adult offspring from previous years. (/obvious metaphor) These youths assist with incubating the eggs and providing food and protection to the newly hatched chicks. The two strongest chicks in the nest will kill the weakest one if food is not abundant. Chicks are independent about ten weeks after hatching.
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/Mt187r0Ec9A
Kookaburras eat lizards, insects, worms, snakes, mice, and they will snatch your goldfish out of your garden pond, like the great blue heron does in my area. (He's *protected* and knows it.) They perch in a tree until they see prey and then pounce to the ground. Laughing kookaburras have been introduced to a wide range in Australia and surrounding islands because they are believed to kill significant numbers of venomous snakes.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=33zTmBuLw68
Laughing kookaburra families assemble in larger groups called "riots." Their calls are loud and various; the characteristic "laugh" has become a stereotyped "jungle background" sound in movies and other media. The calls help to establish territories and maintain dominance among family groups. These birds also perform flight displays to encroach on or defend territories. A representative from a riot attempting to move into a new territory will face off against an individual from the target group, flying from branch to branch while calling loudly. An invader may also circle a targeted area, challenging other birds.
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/LM_ekLgWbFE
Laughing kookaburras are a species of Least Concern to IUCN. They are protected under Australian law and are a very famous symbol of the uniqueness of Australia.