Kookaburra sits in the old gum tree
Merry, merry king of the bush is he
Laugh, Kookaburra! Laugh, Kookaburra!
Gay your life must be
Kookaburra sits in the old gum tree
Eating all the gum drops he can see
Stop, Kookaburra! Stop, Kookaburra!
Leave some there for me
Kookaburra sits in the old gum tree
Counting all the monkeys he can see
Stop, Kookaburra! Stop, Kookaburra!
That’s not a monkey that’s me
Kookaburra sits on a rusty nail
Gets a boo-boo in his tail
Cry, Kookaburra! Cry, kookaburra!
Oh how life can be
Our Shadows Will Remain 
When I first learned that song as a child, I thought it was about a make-believe animal. Being from the U.S., I’d never seen a kookaburra, and the word is so much fun, it doesn’t sound real. But then I learned what they are, and when I visited Australia, I got to hear them, and their appearance and laughter have never ceased to delight me beyond measure.
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There are plenty of unique animals in Australia and some that many people didn’t believe.
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Indeed. I even wrote a children’s book on the platypus a couple of years ago — took a long time for people to believe that one. Wonderful creatures all over Australia.
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Exactly what I was talking about. I never got to see one in the wild while I was in Australia.
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Likewise — not in the wild — but fortunately, Healesville Sanctuary outside Melbourne has a few, so not viewed in the wild, but at least in real life. Remarkable creatures. Echidnas are pretty amazing, too — Australia’s other egg-laying mammals.
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Haha, that is also where I went to see one.
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