page_title: Tawny frogmouth
section_title: Bonding and breeding
hierarchical_section_title: Tawny frogmouth / Behaviour and ecology / Bonding and breeding
caption_attribution_description: English: Tawny Frogmouth chick being fed 5 days after hatching.
context_page_description: The tawny frogmouth is a species of frogmouth native to and found throughout the Australian mainland and Tasmania. It is a big-headed, stocky bird, often mistaken for an owl due to its nocturnal habits and similar colouring, and is sometimes, at least archaically, referred to as mopoke or mopawk, also used for the Australian boobook, whose call is often confused with the tawny frogmouth's. In 2019, Australian readers of The Guardian online voted it as the second most popular bird in the Australian Bird of the Year poll.
context_section_description: Tawny frogmouths form partnerships for life, and once established, pairs usually stay in the same territory for a decade or more. Establishing and maintaining physical contact is an integral part of their lifelong bond. During breeding season,  pairs roost closely together on the same branch, often with their bodies touching. The male carries out grooming by gently stroking through the plumage of the female with his beak in sessions that can last for 10 minutes or more.
  The breeding season of tawny frogmouths is from August to December, but individuals in arid areas are known to breed in response to heavy rains. Males and females both share in the building of nests by collecting twigs and mouthfuls of leaves and dropping them into position. Nests are usually placed on horizontal, forked tree branches and can reach up to 30 cm in diameter. Loose sticks are piled together, and leaf litter and grass stems are placed to soften the centre. The nests are very fragile and can disintegrate easily.
  The clutch size of the tawny frogmouth is one to three eggs. Both sexes share incubation of the eggs during the night, whilst during the day, males incubate the eggs. For the duration of the incubation period, the nest is rarely left unattended. One partner roosts on a nearby branch and provides food for the brooding partner. Once hatched, both parents cooperate in the supply of food to the young. The fledging period of the tawny frogmouth is 25 – 35 days, during which they develop half their adult mass.
caption: Chicks 5 days after hatching, Melbourne
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