The marbled frogmouth is a bird in the family Podargidae. The species was first described by Jean René Constant Quoy and Joseph Paul Gaimard in 1830. It is found in the Aru Islands, New Guinea and Queensland. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist lowland forest and subtropical or tropical moist montane forest.
Region
New Guinea, Aru Islands, and northeast Australia
Typical Environment
Occurs in tropical moist lowland and lower montane forests, including primary rainforest, vine thickets, and well-developed secondary forest. Favors densely vegetated gullies, forest edges, and riparian corridors where it can hunt from low to mid-level perches. In Australia it is most often associated with the Wet Tropics and nearby ranges; in New Guinea it is more widely distributed across suitable rainforest. It roosts by day on horizontal branches, relying on camouflage.
Altitude Range
Sea level to 1600 m
Climate Zone
Tropical
Ease of Keeping
Beginner friendly: 1/5
The marbled frogmouth is a cryptic nocturnal bird of the frogmouth family Podargidae, masterfully camouflaged by its marbled grey-brown plumage. It often adopts a freeze posture, aligning its body with a branch to resemble a broken limb. Birds in northeast Queensland are sometimes referred to as the plumed frogmouth, a distinctive subspecies with small head plumes. It is sensitive to extensive logging and fragmentation of rainforest habitats.
Subspecies plumiferus in Mount Glorious, Queensland, Australia
Temperament
solitary and cryptic
Flight Pattern
short rapid wingbeats interspersed with silent glides
Social Behavior
Typically seen singly or in pairs; pairs maintain territories in dense forest. Nests are small, flimsy platforms of twigs placed on horizontal branches. Both sexes incubate and care for the young, relying on camouflage and stillness to avoid detection. Roosts motionless by day, often choosing the same favored perches.
Migratory Pattern
Resident
Song Description
Voice is a series of deep, resonant oom or oo-oo notes delivered at night, often in evenly spaced sequences. Also gives soft moans, gruffs, and trills during duet-like exchanges between pair members.
