This little guy (or gal) is called a tawny frogmouth. It's like an owl but its head is less round and it's very good at pretending to be a branch as a way to camouflage itself to hide from predators.
As far as I'm aware, they are native only to Australia (I have not Googled, so I could be wrong) but I do rather love their uniqueness. They have very fluffy soft feathers that look like they'd be lovely to touch but they also have a very strong beak that would not be lovely to be bitten by! (Which is I'm sure what would happen if one were to get too close!)
They're pretty tricky to spot since they (1) tend to hang out high up in tree branches to stay away from dogs and humans and other pesky animals that might hurt them but also (2) because they're so darn good at camouflaging themselves!
So had it not been for my highly sensitive, honed-over-many-years intuitive sense that seems to just know where animals are, I would have walked right under a pair of them on our walk this afternoon. At least two metres above my head and silent as a hawk on the hunt, there was no logical reason at all for me to look up.
But I did. And that meant Brad and I got to see one of these wonderful creatures tucked away between some branches. And then when I shared my joy of seeing this rarely-seen bird with the closest neighbours, Brad pointed out that there were actually two, both hiding in different spots in the same general area.
Yay, for trusting my intuition enough to do illogical things and listening to it enough over the years that this now (kinda) feels normal. 😊
