They are named for their large flattened hooked bill and huge frog-like
gape, which they use to capture insects. The three
Podargus species are large frogmouths restricted to Australia and
New Guinea, that have massive flat broad bills. They are known to take larger prey, such as small vertebrates (frogs, mice, etc.), which are sometimes beaten against a stone before swallowing. The ten
Batrachostomus frogmouths are found in tropical Asia. They have smaller, more rounded bills and are predominantly insectivorous. Both
Podargus and
Batrachostomus have bristles around the base of the bill, and
Batrachostomus has other, longer bristles which may exist to protect the eyes from insect prey. Their flight is weak. They rest horizontally on branches during the day, camouflaged by their
cryptic plumage. Through convergent evolution as night hunters, they resemble owls, with large front-facing eyes. Up to three white eggs are laid in the fork of a branch, and are incubated by the female at night and the male in the day. ==Taxonomy==