Tawny Frogmouth

Spotted in Morialta Conservation Park.

What a funny bird he was. Sitting in the car park tree, he was looking ahead and probably napping a bit. As soon as we got out of the car, he changed his position into this one, pretending to be just another branch of the tree. When we walked away, he relaxed back into normal. So I returned for another photo and he streched to the side again. It is supposed to be one of the best examples of cryptic plumage and mimicry in Australian birds. Great camouflage, but we weren't fooled.

He was still there when we came back from our walk. And this time streched to the other side. There was no way to catch him out like we did from the car through the dirty windscreen.