The following are lithographs that came from our three year sojourn in Europe in the 70's. As we travelled I purchased a few signed lithographs from a street stall, flea market or one of the old book stores in various countries. My love of all things botanical and especially flowers, shows in the collection.
They are signed and numbered and some are dated.
More often than not I have forgotten exactly where I found them, but this one I remember came from Italy, it was a page out of an old book.
The kookaburras I had to have, "Lachender Hans" or "Laughing Hans" the kookaburra is called in Germany. Kookaburras - click on the name to hear them laugh!
Kookaburras are the largest of the Kingfisher family, but they don't fish, they are carnivores, they eat lizards, snakes and rodents. They are often seen smacking their catch against a post or tree branch, I have seen a kooka doing this to a snake! I thought the bird was just making sure the snake was dead but apparently they do it to break up any bones to aid in digestion! Yuck, to each his own but it's good to have them around they help to control the pest population!
They are very handsome birds, the male and female are hard to tell apart they look so similar, and they mate for life. They are also very territorial, and are long lived birds, up to twenty years in captivity. They cohabit well with humans, my Mum used to put out raw meat for them on the fence posts, Aussies love their kookas!
The aborigines believe that the kookaburras laugh every morning to tell the Sky People to light The Great Fire, the sun.
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