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This is a list of the 135 bird species that we saw during our travels through Australia. It is posted here as a quick reference for us, as we sent our bird book home once we left Australia and want a way remember some bird's name we saw during our travels. The bird book we used is the best in Australia, and highly recommended: Michael Morcombe's Field Guide to Australian Birds ( this incredible book, which is available from Amazon now has a smaller travel-sized companion ). Links with a camera logo  next to them are to pictures of the bird species, links in the text areas show either more pictures of the birds, or examples of the environments in which they were seen. | ||
| Date (first seen) |
Location (first seen) |
Description of location/behavior of bird |
|
Emu
| ||
| Oct 4, 2002 | Pimba, SA | Looked like a walking bush, tended to feed in small desert valleys or in the greener fields further south. One bird visited Aquila eating heath berries. |
|
Southern Cassowary
| ||
| Aug 27, 2002 | Mission Beach, QLD | Crossed the road at midday directly behind a Cassowary crossing sign! |
| Australian Bush-Turkey | ||
| July 20, 2002 | Eagle Heights, QLD | Bold flock feeding in picnic areas. Build huge mounds as nests - looks like an autumn leaf pile about 4.5 feet tall and 15 feet in diameter. Saw such a pile in the Maleny Bookfarm "rainforest". |
| Indian Peafowl - Otherwise known as peacocks | ||
| July 14, 2002 | Rathdowny, QLD | Few scattered birds near houses on way up to Wild Mountains. Could hear their screeching from a ways away. |
| Magpie Goose | ||
| Aug 17, 2002 | Prosperine, QLD | Three huge flocks of these geese were in a farm field. I first mistook them for Ibis, but they didn't seem right. I walked out into the field for a closer look, and soon had hundred of these geese flying all around me. |
| Black Swan | ||
| July 20, 2002 | Southport, QLD | The lagoons around the northern end of the Gold coast were full of both Black and Mute Swans. |
| Mute Swan | ||
| July 20, 2002 | Southport, QLD | The lagoons around the northern end of the Gold coast were full of both Black and Mute Swans. |
| Australian Wood Duck | ||
| Oct 21, 2002 | Grampians, VIC | There was a pair grazing by the side of the road. Soon it seemed there were no other ducks in the interior of Aus except these wood ducks. They are very common in VIC. |
| Chestnut Teal | ||
| December 26, 2002 | Bateman's Bay, NSW | Sleeping on one foot in the "water gardens" of Bateman's Bay. |
| Pacific Black Duck | ||
| July 21, 2002 | Runaway Bay Marina, NSW | Collin has two Pacific Black ducks that seem to act as pets, begging for food at particular times of day. Like cats they seem to wander between a number of different "owners" for multiple meals at regular times of day. |
| Mallard | ||
| Aug 10, 2002 | Rockhampton | A pair was searching the waterfront park grass for food. We were surprised it took us this long to find a Mallard! |
| Little Black Cormorant | ||
| Oct 15, 2002 | Wellington, SA | Fishing in a marina while we ate lunch. |
| Little Pied Cormorant | ||
| Sept 5, 2002 | Gordonvale, QLD | Drying its wings while standing on a branch of a log that had fallen into a river that was great for swimming. (Clean, fast flowing and deep.) |
| Pied Cormorant | ||
| July 22, 2002 | South Port, NSW | Fishing in the interior ocean channel on our first day sailing with Collin. |
|
Australian Pelican
| ||
| July 7, 2002 | Carrowbrook, NSW | Soaring over the hillsides. There is a lake at the bottom of the soaring hills. |
| Lesser Frigatebird | ||
| July 21, 2002 | Ocean channel, NSW | Glided past the sailboat while we were at anchor in Collin's boat. |
| Great Egret | ||
| Dec 26, 2002 | Batemans Bay, NSW | Very large and fancy white Egret feeding in Water Gardens of Bateman's Bay. |
| Intermediate Egret | ||
| July 21, 2002 | Gold Coast, QLD | Feeding on sand bar while we were pumping Yabbies with Collin. |
| Cattle Egret | ||
| Apr 10, 2002 | Georgetown, QLD | It looks like these birds may have made it around the world to all subtropical and tropical areas. They are numerous in QLD feeding among the cows and sheep, just as they do elsewhere. |
| White-faced Heron | ||
| July 20, 2002 | South Port, QLD | These herons are quite small in comparison to the other similar herons. They prefer irrigated areas, ditches and dams. |
| White-necked Heron | ||
| Aug 10, 2002 | Rockhampton, QLD | The first one we saw, and a few thereafter excited us greatly, due to the exotic look of the white wing spots as they fly. Soon we were able to recognize them both in flight and feeding in creeks. |
| Royal Spoonbill | ||
| Dec 30, 2002 | Clifton, NSW | Three birds feeding in lagoon next to highway. Good spot by Andy at the bottom of a long fast hill. |
| Yellow-billed Spoonbill | ||
| Aug 18, 2002 | Ayr, QLD | Feeding in a roadside ditch. I nearly passed it by as at first glance it looked like another cattle egret. |
|
Australian White Ibis
| ||
| July 15, 2002 | Beaudesert, QLD | Hundreds feeding in almost every field. They are difficult to photograph because of their white bodies and black heads. One or the other always disappears into the background. The bright scarlet skin on the underside of the wings is brilliant during the breeding season, and dull pink for the rest of the year. |
| Straw-necked Ibis | ||
| July 19, 2002 | Rathdowny, QLD | Feeding in field on our way out of Wild Mountains. These Ibis are much more rare and hard to find in many areas than the White Ibis. |
| Glossy Ibis | ||
| July 23, 2002 | Runaway Bay, NSW | It was actually near Hwy 4 between Runaway bay and Stapylton, feeding in a field with some of the other Ibis species. We saw very very few of these birds during our trip, though they are easy to identify as they have no major patch of white on them as do the other two species. |
| Black-necked Stork | ||
| Sept 12, 2002 | Blackbull, QLD | This large all-limb bird flew away from us as we cycled by a small river on the road to Normanton. Had been feeding with two egrets. |
| Brolga | ||
| Aug 11, 2002 | Livingstone shire, QLD | Large flock seen, noisy like cockatoos, flight like Ibis. There were also resident individuals in Normanton at the train station. Each named with its own known personality and family lines. |
| Brahminy Kite | ||
| July 25, 2002 | Stony Bridge, Brisbane, QLD | Flying majestically under the high bridge along the shores of a park with a backdrop of Brisbane. This is one of Andy's favorite birds. |
| Black Kite | ||
| Aug 16, 2002 | Mackay, QLD | One black bird soaring overhead with a sharply "v"ed tail, turned into a flock of birds, and by the time we reached Normanton, they had turned into a constant presence in the air whenever there were thermals to fly. |
| Whistling Kite | ||
| Aug 12, 2002 | 160 km S. of Mackay | Gliding overhead to show its two light feather patches from leading edge to trailing edge on the underside of wings that are fronted with all light feathers on the leading edge. |
| Black-shouldered Kite | ||
| Aug 11, 2002 | QLD coastal Hwy | Soaring over the road. Later, these became a common sight, especially in Victoria, where they hover in the air like a fluttering kite before falling to the ground to catch mice and other prey. |
| Letter-winged Kite | ||
| Aug 2, 2002 | Maleny, QLD | These more elusive kites were first seen at the bookfarm. The black W shape stark against the bright white of the rest of the bird while soaring. |
| Wedge-tailed Eagle
| ||
| Sept 17, 2002 | South of Alice Springs, NT | There was a sign for a company at the entrance of their driveway with a silhouette of a wedge-tailed eagle as their logo. I laughed, as Andy had yet to see one, though I had seen a few during the rare moments we were not together, and we were starting to think he simply wasn't meant to see one. At that moment, I looked up at what I thought was a black kite in the sky, only to find that it was actually a wedge-tailed eagle. From then on they became a regular sight, feeding with the crows at almost every road-kill site from Alice Springs to the coast at Port Augusta. |
| White-bellied Sea-Eagle | ||
| Aug 31, 2002 | Rex's lookout, QLD | North of Cairns soaring along the ocean shore. The first one I saw was just after sunrise at Palm Cove. The clean white triangle of leading edge and body sharply contrasting with the black triangles of wing feathers. The second one we both saw, soaring at Rex's lookout, almost teasing the Hangs who didn't have enough wind to launch yet. This one was a juvenile. |
| Pacific Baza | ||
| Aug 3, 2002 | Kenilworth, QLD | As we reached the edge of the small town of Kenilworth - a fun place to go due to the friendly people and their great playground! - there was an odd bird sitting in a sycamore tree on the side of the road. We were sure we knew what it was right away, as we had been hoping to see this odd looking bird of prey with its grey pointed head, dark gray and brown back, and bright rufous bands alternating with bright white in horizontal bars across its belly. |
| Nankeen Kestrel | ||
| July 28, 2002 | Maleny, QLD | As we approached the Maleny Book farm there was a bunch of Mynas pestering a large bird of prey. This bird was a Nankeen Kestrel. Distinctive for its long thin in flight tail, white underside with a black stripe across the bottom of the tail, and bright brown, rufous and grey colors on the back, we often stopped to look this bird up over and over again, until finally recognizing all of the different features as the same bird. They are widespread and were seen in all areas of our trip. |
| Australian Hobby | ||
| Aug 13, 2002 | 12k to Clareview, QLD | One Juvenile sitting fluffed up in a bare tree with a crow on a cold morning near the coast. This was the only Hobby we saw. |
| Brown Falcon | ||
| Sept 27, 2002 | NT-SA border | Large bird (40-50 cm) sitting in tree by side of road. Flew a very short way away when we stopped to take a closer look. |
| Dusky Moorhen | ||
| Dec 26, 2002 | Bateman's Bay, NSW | Feeding in Water Gardens. Bright yellow tip of beak is distinctive. |
| Purple Swamphen | ||
| Aug 17, 2002 | Proserpine, QLD | Common at roadsides darting into the bush, usually at the edge of water, when we arrive. Simply waiting less than a minute seems to reset their confidence and they come back out again. White flash of the tail and all-red large beak are distinctive. |
| Black-tailed Native-hen | ||
| Oct 15, 2002 | Wellington, SA | Many feeding at the marina where we sat on the grass and ate lunch. The people who lived there didn't want them on their yards and would come out and chase them away. They would fly to the other side of the inlet, with horrible crash-running landings, where they would eat for a while until that neighbor came out and chased them away. Then they flew back to the first yard and the cycle started again... |
| Eurasian Coot | ||
| Oct 15, 2002 | Murray River | Seen from ferry as we crossed the river. We thought we had seen them numerous times before, but couldn't be sure, as they were always far away. |
| Buff-banded Rail | ||
| Sept 7, 2002 | Mt. Garnet | When Andy went into the little town to get some bread (and ended up checking his email) I sat in a little picnic area. A little (28-32 cm) nervous Rail came out of the bushes and picked through the grass. Andy came back and it dashed into a tree that had a circle of growth under it. I told Andy to go to the tree, so he could see this bird. Sure enough it popped out of the back of the bush when Andy appeared. However, he couldn't see it, as it was on the other side. He circled the bush, and the bird did the same. Finally I went over the to bush and Andy sat on the bench so he could see the bird on the other side before it gave up on the game completely and went back into the side shrubs to calm down before coming back out to feed again. |
| Ruddy Turnstone | ||
| Oct 5, 2002 | 40 km from Pimba, SA | This little brightly colored chestnut, white and black bird was at an outlook parking area, turning over all the stones expectantly. It certainly was true to its name! |
| Eastern Curlew | ||
| July 21, 2002 | Runaway Bay, NSW | Probing with its long curved beak in the same mud flats we were pumping yabbies in with Collin. |
| Masked Lapwing | ||
| July 20, 2002 | Southport, QLD | Large (35-39 cm) kill-dear looking and acting bird (except I'm not sure if it feigns a broken wing if threatened) feeding on sides of roads and in farm fields. The only main difference is the bright yellow mask that hangs off this bird's face. |
| Silver Gull | ||
| Aug 13, 2002 | Clareview, QLD | Begging on the beach, and every beach we visited thereafter. |
| Crested Pigeon | ||
| July 15, 2002 | Beaudesert, QLD | "Woop" This is one of our favorite Aussie birds, dubbed to us as "Pointy-headed pigeons." They are simple in their pleasures and simple in their ways. Happiness at finding water in a container leads to many "woops" of joy, though the silly birds will commonly stand in their newly found water or on the edge, tipping it over. One landed on a wire in Curtain springs (good job!!) but got its wing stuck on another wire. Pretending not to be worried about this stuck wing, it talked with the bird next to it, as if it had meant to land that way, and with small movements tried to free the wing. Eventually it succeeded - do you think anyone noticed? |
| Common Bronzewing | ||
| Nov 2, 2002 | Aquila, VIC | They finally came out of hiding from Andy at Aquila and for the month we spent there were absolutely everywhere. |
| Brush Bronzewing | ||
| Nov 7, 2002 | Grampians, VIC | Flew close to the windsheild of Barb's 4x4 for quite a while giving a very good view of its brightly colored wings and blue-grey front, with chestnut cape. |
| Feral Pigeon | ||
| July 25, 2002 | Brisbane, QLD | Common everyday city pigeon |
| Diamond Dove | ||
| Sept 11, 2002 | Croydon, QLD | Tiny (20-24 cm) red-eyed dove seen along the Cairns to Normanton road. It took a while to see one close enough to catch the red eyes. |
| Bar-shouldered Dove | ||
| Aug 21, 2002 | Rollingstone, QLD | Walked by the front door of our tent while we woke up in the free camping rest stop. |
| Spotted Turtle-Dove | ||
| Aug 11, 2002 | Marlborough, QLD | Second most common city pigeon. |
| Red-tailed Black-Cockatoos | ||
| Aug 8, 2002 | Miriam Vale, QLD | Chattering loudly in a tree above a yard with a Kelpie. |
| Yellow-tailed Black-Cockatoo | ||
| July 13, 2002 | Yralla, NSW | Huge (58-65cm) black noisy birds with smooth controlled flight. A cause for awe and excitement for us. |
| Gang Gang Cockatoo | ||
| Oct 21, 2002 | Zumstein, Grampians, VIC | We cycled up (literally, as the climb was 20 km long) to a pair of these birds who were drinking from a small waterfall surrounded by ferns next to the road. The male was a bit concerned about our stopping to watch them, but the female told him she wasn't as concerned and wanted to finish drinking first. He went and sat in a nearby tree, nervously rocking from one foot to the other, while she climbed with a purposeful air to her favorite section of the waterfall to drink, with her tongue sticking out from her beak, licking the rock. She then flew up to her mate, and the two of them continued on their way. The sound of a cockatoo creaking is an odd one, and calls for a closer look, as the sound is probably coming from these more elusive Cockatoos. |
| Long-billed Corella | ||
| Oct 21, 2002 | Wartook, VIC | Nearing the Grampians, we were still out in the flat farmland. Hearing a softer than normal chattering of Cockatoos, we stopped to see the long overhanging bills of about ten birds watching us while they ate the fruit of the tree. |
| Little Corella | ||
| Nov 20, 2002 | Mt Rouse, VIC | In the early morning, we cycled by a large half dead tree on our way out of the Mt Rouse volcanic crater park. Sitting in the tree, chattering very noisily, there was a flock of about twenty birds watching, blinking, and talking about us. We were definately more the ones who were being watched than the birds were by us. We stood and looked at them for a while and then continued our cycling, hearing them call loudly after us, and soon they were flying over our heads as we made our way back to the highway. |
| Cockatiel | ||
| Aug 10, 2002 | Rockhampton, QLD | Wild birds were feeding with the rainbow lorikeets at the zoo. Popular cage bird, but few seen in the wild on our travels. |
| Sulphur-crested Cockatoo | ||
| June 15, 2002 | Sydney, NSW | "Hello Cocky." The first ones we saw were wild birds that had learned to stand on people's arms and shoulders to get food in trade for photos. They are an important part of the landscape, as they are very loud and social. When they land, their yellow crest is raised high, and they look around to see who might have seen that spectacular landing! They are capable of learning a small amount of language - not just to repeat, but to actually use and understand words. There was one almost completely bald cockatoo in northern QLD at a free camp, that walked along the ground crying over its shoulder to its human family "Come on...., come on...." When we met the bird, it did a little dance for us, and then suddenly feeling insecure asked its companion for a face nuzzle by saying "Cocky love?" It knew a number of other phrases, and we could hear it talking with its family that night in loud words, finally ending with a "good night cocky" from the people, and a return call from the bird. |
| Major Mitchell's Cockatoo | ||
| Sept 21, 2002 | Mt Conner, NT | There seems to be a small flock living in a particular grove of Casuarina on the road to Uluru. They were there when we cycled in, and were still there several days later when cycled came out. Brilliant pink with a yellow stripe down the center of the males' crests. Otherwise they look a bit like odd Galahs. |
| Galah | ||
| July 5, 2002 | Singleton, NSW | Large flocks roam all over Australia. Perhaps the best time we had with them, was seeing a tiny tree with more Galahs on it than leaves (just south of Normanton). It was a humorous sight as the birds were half sitting on each other, just so that they could all be in the same little sapling. The other main joy of watching them is how they fly... they tend to have a jerky flight pattern similar to those of most bats. |
| Rainbow Lorikeet | ||
| June 17, 2002 | Sydney, NSW | These were the first parrots we had a chance to really watch. It was our first cycle ride into downtown Sydney, where we saw them eating Sycamore seeds while hanging up-side-down. They were then seen in every town along the coast, and are a popular bird at bird feeders, where they are good at telling time if fed at the same time every day. |
| Musk Lorikeet | ||
| Oct 14, 2002 | Meadows, SA | Andy nearly collided with one on his bike. |
| Australian King Parrot | ||
| Aug 2, 2002 | Maleny, QLD | Another book farm sighting. There was a family of these birds that lived in the trees down the neighbor's driveway from the caravan we were staying in. Male and female look completely different, the male with a red head and green wings, and the female with a light green head and green wings, and a bit of bright red on the stomach. |
| Red winged Parrot | ||
| Aug 11, 2002 | Near Marlborough, QLD | Bright green bird with black wings with red spots in the center of the dark black. A pair flew over the road. Only a few pairs seen on our whole trip. Unmistakable markings. |
| Crimson Rosella | ||
| July 5, 2002 | Carrow brook, NSW | The first flock we saw was at the Yurt near Singleton. From there we've seen them all over the place. Bright red males with bright blue wings and tail. The females are a rainbow of green, yellow, red, and blue, and were often followed to see what they were, only to find, once again, a crimson rosella. Michael Moore's quote on this spectacular bird does hold true "This rosella would no doubt be far more appreciated were it rare, but it is quite common and its beauty is all too often taken for granted." |
| Eastern Rosella | ||
| Oct 14, 2002 | Wangarilla, SA | Flew across the road in the hills of Adelaide. Became fairly common after that point in lands about 50 k or more from the coast. |
| Pale-headed Rosella | ||
| July 29, 2002 | Maleny, QLD | There was a pair of pale-headed Rosellas that would accompany us on our watering route each evening we were at the book farm. |
| Red-rumped Parrot | ||
| Oct 20, 2002 | Pimpinio, VIC | Several seen on the way to the Grampians and a few thereafter. The red on the rump is more brilliant that it shows in the pictures... perhaps because it is breeding season? |
| Mulga Parrot | ||
| Sept 22, 2002 | Yuluru, NT | Dull colors when hiding and eating in the grass, bright colors when flying. They were plentiful and joyous through the desert from Alice to Port Augusta. |
| Blue Bonnet | ||
| Dec 6, 2002 | Ovens Valley | Six birds were active around dusk near the road in between rain showers. These were the only ones we saw. |
| Budgerigar | ||
| Nov 26, 2002 | You-Yangs, VIC | Sat on a fence and fed among the tall grasses. Not many seen! |
| Fan-tailed Cuckoo | ||
| Aug 22, 2002 | Broadwater forest, QLD | One slate grey backed, cinnamon breasted bird came and said hello to us while at a remote truck stop in the middle of rainforest territory. |
| Forest Kingfisher | ||
| Aug 28, 2002 | Innisfail, QLD | Sitting on a wire above the road. |
| Sacred Kingfisher | ||
| Sept 11, 2002 | Croydon, QLD | One pair sitting on a wire in the cooler evening time. |
| Blue-winged Kookaburra | ||
| Aug 2, 2002 | Maleny, QLD | One pair in particular liked to come and drink from the book farm swimming pool in the evening. |
| Laughing Kookaburra | ||
| July 3, 2002 | Carrowbrook, NSW | Wonderful sounds every morning... loud pairs singing a battle of the bands each morning to their neighbors. Sometimes we'd try our hand at a round, but we always lost.... it's hard to beat a couple of birds at a monkey sounding oooo-ooooo-ooooo-aaaa-aaaa-aaaa sound at full volume! |
| Rainbow Bee-eater | ||
| Sept 26, 2002 | Erldunda, NT | Beautifully bright bird of rainbow colors, thin black beak and eye-band and two long trailing streamers on the males. They are very acrobatic, and like to sit on a perch, fly to chase and catch an insect, then back to the perch. |
| Superb Lyrebird | ||
| Jan 13, 2003 | Mt. Solitary, NSW | While hiking out to Mt Solitary, we walked through a patch of dry rainforest, complete with many large lianas (woody vines) and tree ferns. In this area there were two Lyre birds, completely uncaring about our presence, chasing each other "crouching tiger" style through the forest - a mixture of brief flights in a broad display of feathers and running along tree branches and vines, all at a very fast pace. |
| White-throated Treecreeper | ||
| Oct 21, 2002 | Zumstein, VIC | The grampians introduced us to a bird we had heard for a long time. We thought the noise came from the rufous whistler, but observation from a treehouse at Aquila proved otherwise. The endless "tree-tree-tree-tree-tree-tree" sound (are they counting every tree in the forest?) comes from the treecreepers. |
| Splendid Fairy-wren | ||
| July 4, 2002 | Carrowbrook, NSW | Females seen feeding along the edge of a stream at the cool bottom of the valley just east of Julian's yurt. |
| Superb Fairy-wren | ||
| Oct 21, 2002 | Grampians, VIC | The first pair we saw was foraging among bracken fern, short grasses, and around a log. The pair would call to each other periodically, never completely out of sight or hearing range of the other. Watching the female for a while, she finally lead our eyes to where the male was foraging for food. They are common in this region and are bold in their contact with humans. There was even one that consistently flew at the window at Aquila's stone house and fought its reflection in Barb's car window and mirrors. |
| Red-backed Fairy-wren | ||
| Sept 9, 2002 | High desert past Atherton, QLD | Brilliant colors seen among the rocks and dried grass of the roadside. It took us a little while to figure out what kind of bird it was! |
| White-browed Scrub Wren | ||
| July 17, 2002 | Wild Mountains, QLD | Along the rabbit fence between QLD and NSW. |
| Buff-rumped Thornbill | ||
| July 16, 2002 | Wild Mountains, QLD | Inquisitive little bird along the edge of the building site. |
| Yellow-rumped Thornbill | ||
| Nov 17, 2002 | Dunkeld, VIC | Many tiny birds (11-12 cm) feeding in the golf course near Aquilla, showing their bright yellow butts when they flew away. |
| Slender-billed Thornbill | ||
| Oct 5, 2002 | 40 K from Pimba | I wanted to eat lunch in a spot where we would see a lot of birds, as any birds in this new type of desert should be new to us. But as we became hungrier and hungrier, there were no birds to be seen at all. Finally we stopped and put our tarp under a tree. Not long after that, we were rewarded anyway, by a flock of these tiny birds. |
| Red Wattlebird | ||
| Oct 22, 2002 | Mackenzie Falls, VIC | Begging at breakfast at our table, and drinking from nearby flowers. Note: "red" of wattle is more salmon pink. |
| Silver-crowned Friarbird | ||
| Aug 29, 2002 | Babinda, QLD | A noisy friarbird that looks like it has a big glob of bird-poo on its head! They were hanging in the bushes in a rest area where we were hiding from the rain. |
| Noisy Friarbird | ||
| Dec 4, 2002 | Lake Nillahootie, VIC | Sitting mostly quiet on a wire fence and in the trees. There was a night not long after this, where the wildlife was so noisy that our ears were ringing dissonance tones. Between the cockatoos, ibis, magpies, cicadids, and even a thumping swamp wallaby we could hardly stand the volume. However, the nest of "noisy friarbirds" in the area with two chicks and two adults was almost completely silent... even in the morning when there was a chance of hearing quieter animals. |
| Blue-faced Honeyeater | ||
| Aug 7, 2002 | Bundaberg, QLD | Eating nectar from a Banksia in a rest stop 20 k before Bundaberg. For a short period they became common beggars at the picnic table. |
| Yellow-throated Miner | ||
| Sept 19, 2002 | Erldunda, NT | Hanging around the gas station looking for scraps. |
| Noisy Miner | ||
| July 28, 2002 | Maleny, QLD | We'd seen them before, but they weren't recorded until we saw them harassing the Nankeen Kestral as we arrived at the book farm. |
| New Holland Honeyeater | ||
| Oct 15, 2002 | Ashville, SA | Many noisy birds drinking Eucalyptus nectar in a shrubby area near the princess highway. |
| Eastern Spinebill | ||
| Oct 28, 2002 | Mt. Abrupt, VIC | Drinking from red tubular flowers at the top of Mt. Abrupt. More were seen later out of the window of the computer room at Aquila, and several times after that as well. Their bright colors of rufous throat patch, bright white line curving up the throat, and dark blue-grey of its back make it a bird that always grabs attention. |
| Yellow-bellied Sunbird | ||
| Aug 28, 2002 | Tropical Harvest, QLD | There was a long beautiful hanging nest on the back porch of the house at tropical harvest, that was made and inhabited by a pair of these birds. They are not actually in the Australian Honeyeaters (Family Meliphagidae, but instead are the only species in Australia of the tropical family Nectariniidae.) The male has a metallic blue throat patch, while the female is all brilliant yellow, both with a very long curved bill. |
| Scarlet Robin | ||
| Oct 23, 2002 | Grampians, VIC | There was a pair that lived in the area around the stone house at Aquila. |
| Red-capped Robin | ||
| Sept 28, 2002 | 30k South of NT-SA border | Hopping in shrubs on side of road. |
| Eastern Yellow Robin | ||
| July 18, 2002 | Wild Mountains, QLD | Most curious bird at the building site, would hop from structure to structure to look in the holes, and watch us work. |
| Golden Whistler | ||
| Dec 30, 2002 | Royal Nat. Park, NSW | In tree during lunch near Sydney. Bright yellow with black head, and band coming down from the head across the throat, separating out an area of bright white above that on the throat up to the bill. |
| Rufous Whistler | ||
| Aug 7, 2002 | Littabella Park, QLD | Andy saw a little bird sitting as a little ball of fluff on the side of the road - we nearly ran over it. We went back to see if there was anything we could do for it. It didn't appear to be hurt in any way, but it was barely responsive. I held it in my hands, and it stood there, alert, but not having an easy time standing up. Its mouth was a bit open at times, which usually means a bird is thirsty. I fed it some water droplets on its beak, but it didn't pay much attention to them. After about fifteen minutes of holding the bird, it started to wake up, standing more easily on my fingers, and suddenly flying over to a branch, where it was able to land safely and stand on its own. My only guess is that it was in shock from being hit by the wake of a car or a truck, rather than by the vehicle itself, and just needed to be warmed back up to normal temperature for it to survive. |
| Bower's Shrike-thrush | ||
| Sept 6, 2002 | Atherton Tablelands, QLD | By the road in a tree during our rest stop on top of the Heberton hills. |
| Shining Flycatcher | ||
| Aug 26, 2002 | Tropical Harvest, QLD | The brightly colored female was sitting in a tree at the bend of the dirt road on our way to the papaya field on the tractor. |
| Rufous Fantail!!! | ||
| Jan 11, 2003 | Kanagra-Boyd NP, NSW | Danced among the leaf litter and undergrowth around and on the path, with its tail fully fanned almost the entire time. Bright orange rump on top and bottom. Beautiful bird - glad we finally saw it!! |
| Willie Wagtail | ||
| June 29, 2002 | Wollumbi, NSW | Dancing side to side with tail along the road. Seen in most towns, especially small, green towns along the coasts. Friendly and curious bird. |
| Spangled Drongo | ||
| Aug 21, 2002 | Ingham, QLD | Many of these long forked tailed black birds seen in one day around the area of Ingham. |
| Magpie-lark | ||
| July 23, 2002 | Runaway Bay, NSW | Saw first one while leaving Collin's marina, and walking through the suburb to pick up our bikes. They are a welcoming bird with a high pitched shriek heard in all major towns in Australia. |
| White-winged Triller | ||
| Oct 5, 2002 | 100k north of Port Augusta, SA | One female was sitting on a branch in a forest stop, cleaning her bill and feathers. |
| Black-faced Cuckoo-shrike | ||
| Oct 21, 2002 | Wartook, VIC | The one we saw was sitting in a large dead tree, looking back at us. |
| White-bellied Cuckoo-shrike | ||
| Sept 8, 2002 | Mt. Surprise, QLD | Hunting insects in acacia, odd wing display upon landing. |
| Figbird | ||
| Sept 2, 2002 | Ellis Beach, QLD | North of Cairns we stopped for a wonderful morning of swimming and eating. In the umbrella shaped trees Andy saw a number of birds hanging in the branches of the fig tree. We had a very enjoyable morning watching these cute birds with bright red eye patchs, yellow bellies, and dark to black tops. |
| White-breasted Woodswallow | ||
| Aug 30, 2002 | Babinda Boulders, QLD | Many on overhead wires, common in the northern coast of QLD. |
| Black Butcherbird | ||
| Aug 22, 2002 | Bilyana, QLD | In rest area - large black butcherbird with a contrasting blue-grey bill. |
| Pied butcherbird | ||
| July 14, 2002 | Beaudesert, QLD | Many singing birds the morning we woke up in the campsite of Beaudesert. Sounded a lot like the liquid tones of New Zealand. |
| Australian Magpie | ||
| June 17, 2002 | Sydney, NSW | Many of these smart birds are everywhere people are. They are able to judge whether you are close enough to your food to defend it or not, and will act accordingly. The parents will even use their noisy young to help in the begging process if they think it will help. |
| Pied Currawong | ||
| July 1, 2002 | Singleton, NSW | Flew over Julian's yurt every morning one direction, and flew home again every evening. It seemed you could set your watch by them. They are also as smart and cunning as the Magpies in stealing food. Their call is a very welcoming - "curra, curra, curra - wong." |
| Australian Raven | ||
| June 17, 2002 | Sydney, NSW | White staring eye is hard to miss. Song starts strong and happy, and then rapidly deteriorates to a moaning, descending sound that sounds like the life of this bird is simply too difficult to bear. |
| Torresian Crow | ||
| July 25, 2002 | Brisbane, QLD | One lives in Jo's backyard in Brisbane. Otherwise the crows are too hard to tell apart... even when we saw a display of all of them, stuffed in a row with "distinguishing features" listed below each one. Oh well! |
| White-winged Chough | ||
| Oct 19, 2002 | Kiata, VIC | A four bird family sang a song like a falling firework display, or a computer game of asteroids... Otherwise they act like pigeons - tail flying over their head on landing, families getting all excited upon every find, and foraging together in a group or a line. |
| Satin Bowerbird | ||
| July 29, 2002 | Maleny, QLD | One morning there was a dead female in the chicken coop / goat pen at the book farm. The next day we saw a curious, live female near the "pond" in the evening. We never saw a blue-black male. |
| Australian (Richard's) Pipit | ||
| Aug 19, 2002 | Erldunda, NT | Single birds running on side of road. |
| Zebra Finch | ||
| Sept 23, 2002 | Olgas, NT | Small flock of brightly colored grass feeding birds on side of road. Entire flock would fly as a school of fish down the road, only to see us coming again and continue the process before heading back the way they came past us. |
| Red-browed Finch | ||
| July 12, 2002 | Tawonga, VIC | Feeding as a flock on the roadside. |
| Chestnut-breasted Mannikin | ||
| Aug 28, 2002 | Innisfail, QLD | Small flock feeding in grasses along road side. |
| House sparrow | ||
| Aug 18, 2002 | Ayr, QLD | In suburban yard. |
| Welcome Swallow | ||
| July 21, 2002 | Southport, QLD | Friendly, curious birds that fly right up to us, sit on perches and stare at us for so long that we are actually the first ones to leave. |
| Tree martin | ||
| Aug 10, 2002 | Rockhampton, QLD | Many over road near a billabong. |
| Silvereye | ||
| Oct 24, 2002 | Aquila, VIC | Saw on first walk taken with Andy, myself and Caroline upon our arrival. It was one of many species of excited little birds in the dense understory shrubs. Though very common in NZ, these were the first and only ones we saw in Australia. |
| Metallic Starling | ||
| Aug 18, 2002 | Ayr, QLD | Sitting on wire over the swimming pool. |
| Common Starling | ||
| July 20, 2002 | Runaway Bay, QLD | Common suburb bird. |
| Common Myna | ||
| June 15, 2002 | Sydney, NSW | Common suburb bird. Often mean to other birds, chasing them for territory though they are not competing types of birds. |
| Common Blackbird | ||
| Oct 21, 2002 | Wartook, VIC | Common suburb bird, but only in the south - VIC and southern NSW |
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