These are large frogmouths restricted to Australia and New Guinea and are found throughout the continent, including Tasmania and can be seen in almost any habitat type except the denser rainforests and treeless deserts. Though often confused with owls they are more closely related to the nightjars and differ from owls in a number of significant respects.
They are nocturnal birds hunting at night and spending the day roosting on a dead log or tree branch close to the tree trunk staying very still and upright, because of their excellent camouflage they look just like part of the branch.
Their diet is consists of nocturnal insects, worms, slugs and snails, small mammals, reptiles, frogs and birds are also eaten. Most food is obtained by pouncing to the ground from a tree or other elevated perch though some prey items, such as moths, are caught in flight, the leading edges of the first primary feathers of the Tawny Frogmouth are fringed to allow for silent flight.
The sexes are similar and the breeding season is from August to December though birds in more arid areas may breed in response to heavy rains. The nest is a loose platform of sticks which is usually placed on a horizontal forked tree branch. Both sexes incubate the eggs, the male sits during the day with both sexes sharing sitting at night, normally only one brood is raised in a season, but sometimes there may be two.