The territorial call is a distinctive laugh that is often delivered by several birds at the same time, and is widely used as a stock sound effect in situations that involve a jungle setting.

A breeding pair can be accompanied by up to five fully grown non-breeding offspring from previous years that help the parents defend their territory and raise their young.

[3] Its diet includes lizards, insects, worms, snakes, mice and it is known to take goldfish out of garden ponds.

The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) has classed the laughing kookaburra as a species of least concern as it has a large range and population, with no widespread threats.

[1] The laughing kookaburra was first described and illustrated (in black and white) by the French naturalist and explorer Pierre Sonnerat in his Voyage à la nouvelle Guinée, which was published in 1776.

He probably obtained a preserved specimen from one of the naturalists who accompanied Captain James Cook to the east coast of Australia.

[9] Edme-Louis Daubenton and François-Nicolas Martinet included a coloured plate of the laughing kookaburra based on Sonnerat's specimen in their Planches enluminées d'histoire naturelle.

[10] In 1783, the French naturalist Johann Hermann provided a formal description of the species based on the coloured plate by Daubenton and Martinet.

[11][12] The current genus Dacelo was introduced in 1815 by the English zoologist William Elford Leach,[13][14] and is an anagram of Alcedo, the Latin word for a kingfisher.

[8][17] The inaccurate impression of geographic distribution given by the name in current usage had not by 1977 been considered an important enough matter to force a change in favour of D.

[19] The names in several Australian indigenous languages were listed by European authors including Go-gan-ne-gine by Collins in 1798,[18] Cuck'anda by René Lesson in 1828[22] and Gogera or Gogobera by George Bennett in 1834.

[6][29] It is a stout, stocky bird 41–47 cm (16–19 in) in length, with a large head, prominent brown eyes, and a long and robust bill.

[6] This species possesses a tracheo-bronchial syrinx, which creates two sources of vibrations so it can produce two frequencies at the same time with multiple harmonics.

[5] The laughing kookaburras call is made through a complex sound production system, by forcing air from the lungs into the bronchial tubes.

[31] The breeding pair within a riot of kookaburra teach the fledglings to produce the signature laughing call after the young have left the nest.

[31] One bird starts with a low, hiccuping chuckle, then throws its head back in raucous laughter: often several others join in.

[30] Hearing kookaburras in full voice is one of the more extraordinary experiences of the Australian bush, something even locals cannot ignore; some visitors, unless forewarned, may find their calls startling.

[30] Laughing kookaburras have been noted to squawk when nesting, exhibiting submissive behavior, and when fledglings are waiting to be fed.

Laughing kookaburras from Eastern States were released to the South West as early as 1883,[38] with birds being noted between Perth and Fremantle, as well as up in Mullewa around 1896.

[40] Mainly via Ernest Le Souef who was Secretary of the Acclimatization Society and Director of Perth Zoological Gardens, an enthusiastic supporter of the Kookaburra who admitted to releasing hundreds from the Zoo, including 50 in 1900 at the Royal request of the visiting Duke of York.

[5] In the 1860s, during his second term as governor of New Zealand, George Grey arranged for the release of laughing kookaburras on Kawau Island.

[43] Additional sightings of laughing kookaburras have been recorded in Scotland,[44] suggesting that individuals of the species may be being intentionally or accidentally released.

Kookaburras hunt much as other kingfishers (or indeed Australasian robins) do, by perching on a convenient branch or wire and waiting patiently for prey to pass by.

[5][30] Small prey are preferred, but kookaburras sometimes take large creatures, including venomous snakes, much longer than their bodies.

[45] Trapeze flights are aptly named after the swooping motion that neighbouring kookaburras will make towards one another in midair when defending territory.

[45] Aggressive posturing is used as a warning before attacking, a signal that is commonly received by foreign kookaburras encroaching on another groups' territory.

[46] Laughing kookaburras will splay out their wings and propel their head forward while shaking their tail feathers to exhibit dominance and ward off intruders.

[5] Laughing kookaburras are a common sight in suburban gardens and urban settings, even in built-up areas, and are so tame that they will often eat out of a person's hands, and allow them to rub their bellies.

[47] Recordings of this bird have been edited into Hollywood movies for decades, usually in jungle settings, beginning with the Tarzan series in the 1930s, and more recently in the film The Lost World: Jurassic Park (1997).

[49] Given the extended range and the large stable population, the species is evaluated as of "least concern" by the International Union for Conservation of Nature.