The frogmouths are a group of nocturnal birds found from across India and southern Asia to Australia. They are named for their large flattened hooked bills and huge frog-like
gape, which they use to take insects. The one's shown above are
tawny frogmouths, and they exhibits one of the best examples of cryptic plumage and mimicry, which perch low on tree branches during the day camouflaged as part of the tree.
Their silvery-grey
plumage patterned with white, black, and brown streaks and spots allows them to freeze into the form of a broken tree branch and become practically invisible in broad daylight. The tawny frogmouth often chooses a broken part of a tree branch and perches upon it with its head thrust upwards at an acute angle using it ...