And just to show it didn’t visit by mistake, the bird turned up again the following day.
About 70 years after the first recorded sighting of a black kookaburra, one has decided to visit the small town of Mathoura.
Ms Robertson has been feeding the bird in the evenings, which keeps it returning to her doorstep.
Local ornithologist Tom Wheller has not heard of black kookaburras being spotted in this area before.
The ABC reported in 2018 that black kookaburras have been sighted in New South Wales, Victoria, Queensland and Western Australia.
An albino kookaburra was also spotted in Queensland in 2010.
Mr Wheller said albino kookaburras are more common than black ones, however both are rare.
He said the darker birds are more successful at camouflaging than the white ones.
‘‘The light coloured ones obviously are easier to see and are taken by predators.
‘‘Over the years I have seen all sorts of odd coloured birds.
‘‘There has been a mostly white Plumed Whistling Duck close to town recently which I have seen a couple of times,’’ said Mr Wheller of the species which is primarily brown in colour.
~ with Eileen Day
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