The blue-winged kookaburra (Dacelo leachii) is a large species of kingfisher native to northern Australia and southern New Guinea. Measuring around , it is slightly smaller than the more familiar laughing kookaburra. It has cream-coloured upper- and underparts barred with brownish markings. It has blue wings and brown shoulders and blue rump. It is sexually dimorphic, with a blue tail in the male, and a rufous tail with blackish bars in the female. Taxonomy The blue-winged kookaburra was first collected by Sir Joseph Banks in 1770, but was initially overlooked and confused with the laughing kookaburra, and was finally officially described by Nicholas Aylward Vigors and Thomas Horsfield in 1826, its specific name commemorating British zoologist William Elford Leach. It is one of four members of the genus Dacelo which are commonly known as kookaburras. Alternative common names include barking or howling jackass, or Leach's kookaburra. The number of subspecies is unclear - with four recognised by most authorities, although others have proposed that the three Australian subspecies gradually change across Australia and should be treated as one. D. l. leachii is the nominate subspecies, found from Brisbane to Broome. D. l. cervina is found on Melville Island and the adjacent mainland. D. l. cliftoni is found in the Pilbara and Hamersley regions of northwestern Australia. D. l. intermedia is found in southern New Guinea. Description The adult blue-winged kookaburra measures around in length and weighs 260 to 330 g. Compared to the related laughing kookaburra, it is smaller, lacks a dark mask, has more blue in the wing, and has striking white eyes. It has a heavier bill than its larger relative. The head and underparts are cream-coloured with brownish streaks. It is sexually dimorphic, with a blue tail in the male, and a rufous tail with blackish bars in the female. Immature birds have more prominent brown bars and marks in their plumage, giving a "dirty" appearance, and their eyes are predominantly brown for the first two years of life. Their call has been described as a maniacal cackling or barking. Distribution and habitat The blue-winged kookaburra has a distribution from southern New Guinea and the moister parts of northern Australia, to the vicinity of Brisbane in southern Queensland across the Top End, and as far down the Western Australian coast as the Shark Bay area. It does not occur between Broome and Port Hedland in northwestern Australia.