Blue-winged Kookaburra
Dacelo leachii
Family: Alcedinidae (Alcedinid Kingfishers, 10 species in Australia)
Size: 40-45 cm
Distribution: Within about 600 km of the coast of QLD, NT and most of Northern WA
Status: Common
Habitat: Open forests, woodlands, paperbark swamps
References: Simpson and Day, Reader's Digest
Very similar to the Laughing Kookaburra in appearance, but with blue wings, a pink bill and a darker blue tail.
It does not live in Sydney or the Blue Mountains but I took a nice photo of one at Australia Zoo so I have included it in this collection of Australian birds.

Photo: Australia Zoo, QLD

Artwork: John Gould, 'The Birds of Australia', 1848. Original Scanned Image.
Some Birdwatching Resources
NEW: Birds of Australia: A Photographic Guide, by Iain Campbell, Sam Woods, Nick Leseberg, Geoff Jones (Photographer). I bought this field guide recently (June 2020). As the name suggests, it's got photographs rather than line drawings. They are very high quality, clear photos. I've got so many field guides now, they have to be really good before I buy them (I got it from a physical book shop, so I was able to look through it thoroughly before deciding whether or not to get it).
From the publisher:
Australia is home to a spectacular diversity of birdlife, from parrots and penguins to emus and vibrant passerines. Birds of Australia covers all 714 species of resident birds and regularly occurring migrants and features more than 1,100 stunning color photographs, including many photos of subspecies and plumage variations never before seen in a field guide. Detailed facing-page species accounts describe key identification features such as size, plumage, distribution, behavior, and voice. This one-of-a-kind guide also provides extensive habitat descriptions with a large number of accompanying photos. The text relies on the very latest IOC taxonomy and the distribution maps incorporate the most current mapping data, making this the most up-to-date guide to Australian birds.
- Covers all 714 species of resident birds and regularly occurring migrants
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Features more than 1,100 stunning color photos
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Includes facing-page species accounts, habitat descriptions, and distribution maps
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The ideal photographic guide for beginners and seasoned birders alike
NOTE: This is the only field guide for Australian birds that I've seen which lists the size of each bird in both centimetres and inches. So if you're much more familiar with inches than centimetres, this would be the best Australian bird field guide to get just for that reason.
Purchase from Australia (The Nile)
Purchase from Australia (Fishpond)
Purchase from Amazon.com (USA Site)
Purchase from Amazon.com.au (Australian Site)
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