Kookaburra Sits in The Old Gum Tree.

Kookaburra sits in the old gum tree,
Merry merry king of the bush is he.
Laugh, Kookaburra, laugh, Kookaburra,
Gay your life must be!

Here are Sherry and Rick from The Mudcakes singing the Kookaburra song in the round/cannon.

Kookaburras are part of the Kingfisher family and live in Australia and New Guinea. Their call sounds like a person laughing.

It’s also how they got their name.

The Wiradjuri people in Australia copied the bird’s noise and turned it into the word for that bird, then when white settlers went to Australia, they copied the Wiradjuri people in their own language.

Kookaburras eat small animals like mice, snakes, insects, worms and little birds and reptiles.

They live in groups in one place and sing together to show what a great group they are.

They’re wild birds but also live happily with people if those people treat them well.

Here is a video filmed in Mudgeeraba, Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia.

And here are some very very happy kookies!

Miss, what’s a Gum Tree?

Gum Tree is the general name for the 800 different types of eucalyptus trees mostly found in Australia.

They often have smooth bark and a wonderful smell.

Gum Trees keep their leaves all year and grow back very easily after a bush-fire.

This is how the Original Inhabitants of Australia make the Kookaburra call on the didgeridoo.

It’s part of their stories and music because it’s the sound of their country

and for them, how their country sounds and feels is like religion for many other cultures in the world.

And here is the beautiful sound of a Magpie, another famous Australian bird with a special call.

Here are some other fantastic animal sounds from Australia.

For the Super Kids like Bob, who fancy playing along with the Ukulele, here’s a really helpful video for learning the chords.

The words are a bit different, but don’t worry about that.

We will use the C chord and the F chord…the two chords at the beginning of the video.

If you want to play along with The Mudcakes at the beginning of this post, you will need the G and the C chords from the video.

(The G chord is a bit harder to play, so needs lots of practice. Do not worry if it’s too difficult for your fingers!!!!)