Tawny frogmouth chick, Australia
© SnapRapid/Offset by Shutterstoc
The most Instagrammable bird?
Why did German researchers set out to determine the world's most Instagrammable bird? We're not quite sure, but once they did, we had to know what it was. And once we saw this cute, fuzzy, kind of angry looking creature that reminds us of an owl, we had to feature it here. So, who is this we're looking at? It's a tawny frogmouth, a nocturnal bird found throughout Australia, including Tasmania. Tawny frogmouths are carnivores, eating nocturnal insects, worms, slugs, and snails, as well as small mammals, reptiles, frogs, and birds. Sometimes confused with owls, they're more closely related to nightjars.
The study, conducted by Katja Thömmes and Gregor Hayn-Leichsenring at the University Hospital Jena in Germany, analyzed Instagram posts from bird-related accounts and determined that people responded to tawny frogmouths' unusual looks and amusing expressions. Who are we to argue with science?
Related Images
Baby white rhinoceros and mother in Hluhluwe–Imfolozi Park, South Africa
Red panda at the Chengdu Panda Base in Sichuan province, China
Humpback whales off the coast of Massachusetts
Anna's hummingbird
Red-billed oxpeckers on an impala in Mpumalanga, South Africa
Little blue heron in Cuba
Giant manta ray and a photographer off the Ningaloo Coast, Australia
Horned ghost crab, Grand Anse, Praslin Island, Seychelles
Today Bing
Giant panda cubs, China
Snails ‘kissing’ in Sambas Regency, Indonesia
Burrowing owl chicks
