Tawny Frogmouth (private swap)

As I said in the previous post, today I was very happy. I also received a second postcard for my collection, from Heather (Australia). She previously sent to me an official postcrossing card with Tyto alba. Today I received from her four cute Tawny Frogmouths (Podargus strigoides).

Tawny Frogmouth is not really an owl, but it looks like an owl :) According to Wiki, Tawny Frogmouths and owls both have anisodactyl feet - meaning that one toe is facing backwards and the other three face forwards. However, owls’ feet are much stronger than the feet of the Tawny Frogmouth as owls use their feet to catch their prey. Owls are also able to swing one of their toes around to the back (with a unique flexible joint) to get a better grip on their prey. Tawny Frogmouths have fairly weak feet as they use their beaks to catch their prey. Owls eat small mammals, like mice and rats, so their bones are shorter and stronger than those of Tawny Frogmouths which usually hunt smaller prey. Tawny Frogmouths typically wait for their prey to come to them, instead of hunting on the wing much like owls.

About postcard: Tawny Frogmouths in the Botanic Garden, Kings Park & Botanic Garden, Perth, Western Australia.