Latest News

When is an 'Owl' - NOT an Owl..?

When is an 'Owl' - NOT an Owl..?

12/10/2018

When it is a 'Frogmouth' - a Tawny Frogmouth...

A pair of very strange birds have arrived at Hamerton Zoo Park. Frogmouths get their name from their beaks which open incredibly wide. Found over much of Australia and Tasmania, these birds look rather like owls but are in fact only distantly related to them. They are masters of camouflage, and confidently sit motionless during the day, often out in the open, blending in with the tree branches. At night they become swift and skillful hunters of insects and small mammals.

The new pair of Tawny Frogmouths at the zoo have flown over 10,000 miles to get here this week, but did have a little help from Thai Airways! They arrived from the Darling Downs Zoo in Queensland, where they were born.