Among australia's many indigenous tribes, there is a terrible legend:
“
There is a kind of bird that makes a low, eerie call after nightfall, and anyone who hears it is in danger of dying.
Its call symbolizes the coming of a doomsday disaster, and the only way to lift the curse is to find this strange bird and kill or expel it. But this magical bird will transform into a tree, so it is always difficult to find its traces...
”
This strange bird of indigenous legend, Chinese name is actually the brown toad mouth plover (Podargus strigoides). There are five words in total, is it impossible to pronounce two words? Come and read with me, the brown toad (má) mouth owl (chī).
It's probably the best player to make memes...
Image credit: projectnoah.org
Not an owl, not a tree trunk
After reading the above picture, it is estimated that everyone will say: Oh, this owl grows a big lump, a little cute ah~
wait! The Toad-mouthed Owl and the Owl are far apart – the Toad-mouthed Owl is a bird of the genus Toad-mouthed Owl in the family Nighthawk, while the Owl is an owl,between the two. However, the toad's eyes are large and round, and it is also chubby, and it is a nocturnal bird, so it is normal to be mistaken for an owl.
Looks a little mournful?
Not only do we humans recognize toads as owls, but even other birds in Australia do. During the day, if the toad-mouthed bird is spotted by other birds, people tend to attack it in groups – who makes it look like a ferocious owl!
The first time I saw the Toad-Mouthed Bird was with the help of other birds, when I heard a flock of black-fronted honey-sucking birds that were particularly restless, and I looked for the sound and found that they were besieging a Toad-mouthed Bird. Fortunately, the brown toad-mouthed bird has a special method of self-preservation – it is a skilled master of disguise in nature.
In the vast majority of cases, the toad-mouthed bird copes with danger by standing motionless on a branch and pretending to be a branch. Its gray-brown feathers, which are the same color as the trunk, are well camouflaged.
Like this
According to ornithologists, the brown toad-mouthed bird will also specially select trees with similar bark textures to their feathers to roost and increase their concealment. Sometimes it deliberately extends its neck, elongates its body, raises its beak, and imitates a dead tree trunk.
As long as my neck is long enough, no one knows I'm not a tree trunk
Image courtesy of moonlitsanctuary.com.au
Not only are adult toads good at camouflage, but even newborn babies are masters of disguise.
The newborn baby toad is snow white and furry, and if you don't look closely, you think it is a blooming eucalyptus flower! Sometimes, babies simply hide in their parents' feathers and are difficult to spot.
The white lump below the right side of the toad's body is a baby
It is not enough to rely on the move of the motionless to defend oneself, the brown toad mouth bird has other strange means of defense.
When the enemy is too close to the toad, the toad-mouthed bird who originally closed his eyes and pretended to be a branch will choose to suddenly open his big eyes and stare at the enemy viciously. This move is unexpected and can scare the enemy.
See watermark for image source
In addition, the toad-mouthed bird also sprays excrement. This skill sounds a bit unpretentious, but when used against reptiles that rely on smell, such as snakes and lizards, it is extremely effective.
The smell of excrement sprayed on enemies by toad-mouthed owls often takes weeks to dissipate.
The head has a long "beard", and I don't know what it is for
If you look closely at the brown toad-mouthed bird, you will find that near its mouth, it seems to have a handful of beard-like feathers. What is this "beard" for? Ornithologists have a lot of speculation and insights.
A pinch of "beard" on the top of the head
Some scholars believe that the "beard" is used to assist in predation: as a nocturnal bird that preys at night, although it does not seem to be very flexible, in fact, the toad mouth bird can fly while eating, and its "whisker" can trap some insects in the mouth like a catcher net; there are also speculations that these "whiskers" can sense the tiny air flow in the air, thereby assisting in locating the prey on the side of the mouth and increasing the success rate of predation.
Other scholars believe that the "beard" plays a protective role, because the brown toad mouth owls will eat some toxic invertebrates, and these whiskers can avoid the eyes and skin from poisonous insect bites.
Image courtesy of mdahlem.net
Some scholars believe that the "beard" is actually part of the camouflage of the toad-mouthed bird, using the "beard" to cover its own beak, so that the appearance of the toad-mouthed bird is different from that of the owl, thereby reducing the attack of other birds.
The final view is that this beard is actually of no practical use, but rather a feature used by the brown toad to court, like the meat of a rooster.
Love is loyal, and we raise a baby together
Since it comes to courtship, let's talk about the emotional world of the tea-colored toad-mouthed bird, which is a bird that is extremely loyal to its partner and will stay with its mate for life.
The two couples will completely divide the responsibility of raising children equally, one on day shift and the other on night shift, so that at least one parent can stay with the young bird on the trunk. When the young birds grow up to be a few months old, they will be forcibly expelled by their parents, and then the couple will continue to live in the two-person world.
Baby toad-mouthed bird
Image courtesy of Wikiwand
How exactly does Mu Mu Nene's brown toad mouth bird courtship and love? There is no definite theory at this time. Experts believe that the toad lovers may rely on each other's pupil contractions to express their love for each other. Actually relying on the way of big eyes and small eyes to talk about love, it is really enough to stay.
In the park I visit frequently, there live two couples of toads, which I have been observing for several years. They are all old husbands and wives with stable feelings, although they are both deeply in love, but they show a completely different situation of husband and wife.
The couple who lived in the swamp were always standing on their own branches, meters apart. Even when there are children, they take turns to stand guard and never appear on the same branch;
Look up at the sky at 45 degrees
The couple who live in the woods are kind and loving, and when they have children, they will squeeze a family of four on the same branch.
Image courtesy of Reddit
Birds that attach so much importance to feelings will naturally grieve over the death of their mates. Dr. Kaplan, an ornithologist who specializes in toad-mouthed plovers, has witnessed the incredible behavior of toad-mouthed birds:
A female toad-mouthed bird was killed by a vehicle while flying across the road at night, while her partner was always guarding it, making a whimpering sound like crying. Four days and four nights passed, it did not eat or drink, and finally followed its partner to death.
Written, photographed | Tu Aojun
WeChat Editor | glad