frogmouth

frogmouth
/frog"mowth', frawg"-/, n., pl. frogmouths /-mowdhz', -mowths'/.
any Australian and Oriental bird of the family Podargidae, related to the goatsuckers, having a broad, flattened, froglike mouth.
[1850-55; FROG1 + MOUTH]

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bird
      any of numerous birds, comprising the family Podargidae in the order Caprimulgiformes, named for their characteristic broad, froglike gape. Frogmouths inhabit the forests of southeastern Asia and Australia. Unlike the weak bill of the nightjars, that of the frogmouths is substantial and slightly hooked. Their food consists of large insects, small lizards, and mice, taken at night; some frogmouths in Australia also eat berries and fruit. They sleep in a crouching position, lengthwise along a branch, during the day. Frogmouths are protectively coloured, reddish brown or grayish, and range in length from about 10 to 22 inches (25 to 55 cm). There are 12 species in two genera.

      The large frogmouth (Batrachostomus auritus), a 16-inch (40-cm) species of the Malay Peninsula and the islands of Sumatra and Borneo, lays a single egg on a pad of down covered with lichens and spiderwebs. The tawny frogmouth (Podargus strigoides), of the Australian mainland and Tasmania, is about 20 inches (50 cm) long. It lays two or three eggs on a flimsy nest of twigs in the crotch of a tree. Other species occur in the Philippines, New Guinea, and the Solomon Islands.

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Universalium. 2010.

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  • Frogmouth — Frog mouth , n. (Zo[ o]l.) One of several species of Asiatic and East Indian birds of the genus {Batrachostomus} (family {Podargid[ae]}); so called from their very broad, flat bills. [1913 Webster] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Frogmouth — Taxobox name = Frogmouths image caption = Tawny Frogmouth, at night image width = 250px regnum = Animalia phylum = Chordata classis = Aves unranked ordo = Cypselomorphae ordo = see text familia = Podargidae subdivision ranks = Genera subdivision …   Wikipedia

  • frogmouth — /ˈfrɒgmaʊθ / (say frogmowth) noun 1. any of various species of nocturnal birds of the family Podargidae, with wide bills, soft wings, cryptic plumage and silent flight, found throughout Australasia and New Guinea, as the tawny frogmouth, Podargus …  

  • frogmouth — noun a nocturnal bird resembling a nightjar, occurring in SE Asia and Australasia. [Podargus strigoides (tawny frogmouth, Australia) and other species.] …   English new terms dictionary

  • frogmouth — noun Any of several nocturnal, insectivorous birds, of the family Podargidae, native to Australia and southern Asia …   Wiktionary

  • frogmouth — n. any of various birds of Australia and SE Asia, esp. of the family Podargidae, having large wide mouths …   Useful english dictionary

  • Dulit Frogmouth — Lithograph by Keulemans, 1892 Conservation status …   Wikipedia

  • Tawny Frogmouth — Taxobox name = Tawny Frogmouth status = lr/LC regnum = Animalia phylum = Chordata classis = Aves ordo = Caprimulgiformes familia = Podargidae genus = Podargus species = P. strigoides binomial = Podargus strigoides binomial authority = (Latham,… …   Wikipedia

  • Sri Lanka Frogmouth — A pair (female on right) of frogmouths (B. m. roonwali) at day roost Conservation status …   Wikipedia

  • Solomon Islands Frogmouth — Taxobox name = Solomon Islands Frogmouth status = LC | status system = IUCN3.1 image caption = regnum = Animalia phylum = Chordata classis = Aves unranked ordo = Cypselomorphae? ordo = Caprimulgiformes (disputed) familia = Podargidae genus =… …   Wikipedia

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