Papuan frogmouth – Podargus papuensis Quoy & Gaimard, 1832 of Central Province / Papua new guinea 750m ASL.

The Papuan Frogmouth (Podargus papuensis) is a large, nocturnal member of the frogmouth family (Podargidae), distributed across New Guinea and several adjacent islands, as well as in the far northeast of Australia. In Papua New Guinea, it inhabits a range of wooded habitats, including lowland forest, gallery forest, secondary forest and forest edges. During the day, it usually rests motionless on branches, where its grey-brown patterned plumage provides effective camouflage against bark. At night, it hunts mainly large insects from exposed perches. Scarab beetles and other nocturnal insects have been recorded as prey, although the species’ diet remains incompletely documented. The English name “frogmouth” refers to its broad, frog-like gape. The species name papuensis means “from Papua” or “from New Guinea”, while the genus name Podargus is derived through the French Podarge from the Greek podagros, meaning “gout-footed”.