Australian Wildlife
Birds

This page includes photos of australian birds including a cockatoo, corella, cormorant, duck, emu, egret, galah, kookaburra, lapwing (plover), lorikeet, magpie, parrot, pee wee, pigeon, and rosella.

Most native Australian birds live in the wild and one should always remember they are wild animals! The cheeky birds shown in the photos below can easily and quickly maim an unsuspecting child or adult. The parrots can nip off a finger and swans, emus or kookaburras are capable of breaking bones with their beak.

Click on thumbnail images to view larger, higher quality images.

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Eastern Rosella

A common and colourful 300 mm bird that lives in the South Eastern coastal forests. Rosellas are seed and fruit eaters that feed in trees or on the ground.

Wild Rosellas mate for life and we have a pair that visit us in the late afternoons. They like to feed on the daisies growing around the edges of our garden.

All native parrots are protected, but unfortunately many are kept in cages or illegally trapped for export overseas.

Rainbow Lorikeet

Named after their brilliant colouring, these 300 mm long birds have hair tipped tongues and are predominantly nectar eaters. They also eat fruit, seeds and insects.

We usually see lorikeets when the local trees are in flower. The birds will come into our garden in dry seasons if we offer a bowl of honey laced water.

Like most nectar eaters, lorikeets have adapted to living in towns where there are an abundance of native flowering shrubs.

King Parrot

A colourful 400 - 450 mm bird that lives in the S E Australian coastal forests. They travel in small flocks and make a loud carrack sound in flight. The male calls with a shrill piping whistle.

The male has brilliant red feathers on the head, neck and under-parts, with dark green mantle and wings. Its hind neck, back and tail are dark blue. The female is mostly green with red under-parts.

The photo above shows both the male and female.

Galah

A grey and pink cockatoo that grows to about 350 mm long. Galahs mate for life and can often be seen in pairs feeding on the ground.

There are large numbers living inland and it is not uncommon to see flocks of hundreds sitting on power lines or fences in rural areas.

Galahs are another bird kept as pets because of their ability to learn to say simple words.

Sulphur Crested Cockatoo

These large white feathered birds live in large flocks and are found throughout Eastern Australia. They grow to about 500 - 550 mm and are easily identified by their erect sulphur coloured crest.

Sulphur Crested Cockatoos feed on a variety of seeds, nectar and fruit. This one was caught eating a passion fruit it had stolen from a vine in the back yard next door.

Corella

Noisy seed and nectar eater who travel in large numbers. They grow to about 400 mm and different varieties live inland or on the coast.

Their feathers are all white except for some pink between the beak and eyes and pale yellow under tail and under wing. They have a small crest .

Cockatoos and Corellas are often kept as cage birds because they are easy to teach to talk and whistle.

Magpie-lark (Pee Wee) Grallina cyanoleuca.

A glossy black and white feathered bird that lives all around Australia. Commonly known as Pee Wees after their call or Mud Larks because of their mud nests.

Magpie-larks grow to 250 mm long and are very agile. They can catch grass hoppers and insects in flight.

Pee Wees usually travel in pairs and sound an alarm if a cat or snake ventures into their territory. They are frequently seen attacking their own reflection in glass windows and motor car wind screens.

Magpie

Magpies become very tame and wild birds can be coaxed to take food from a person's hand. Neighborhood Magpies like Maggie will stand close by while we dig in the garden. As soon as a worm appears, Maggie will dart between our legs to grab the wriggler before it gets covered again.

Magpies are very adept at catching mice and will beat a cat any day. They are a nuisance at nesting time and will dive bomb anyone within 50 meters of their tree.

Kookaburra

Kookaburra grow from about 400 to 450 mm long. They are regular visitors and sit on top of our fence or clothes hoist to investigate the garden. If an unsuspecting mouse, frog or lizard make a wrong move, it will end up being fresh meat for dinner.

Kookaburras have several unique habits. Other than their loud, long chuckling call, they thrash live food against tree branches until it is pulverized enough to swallow whole. Kookaburras are also family oriented and older unmated birds will help feed their younger brothers and sisters.

Emu

The Latin name for Emu means 'fast-footed Australian', given at the time Australia was called New Holland.

This 1.6 m high bird lives at a nearby animal zoo because Emus are not common in the coastal rain forests. They roam most of the inland in small mobs and live on green plants, seeds and insects.

Emus cannot fly and male birds incubate the large green eggs on the ground. They then care for the young birds for up to six months. Emus are also extremely curious and if wild birds are not chased or threatened, they will approach people or campers in the bush.

Crested Pigeon

Crested pigeons grow from 300 to 350 mm long. I always know the lawn needs mowing when the pigeons start feeding in my backyard.

This species has two unique characteristics that make them different from other pigeons. They have a prominent crest on their head and both wings make a loud whistling sound when taking off.

Other related species include Topknot pigeons that live in rain-forests.

Little Egret

A medium sized short-necked heron with a black bill and yellow face. They grow from about 500 to 550 mm long and are found in all states of Australia.

I saw this Little Egret wading in the shallows around the lake one afternoon. It was lightning fast at catching anything disturbed by the bird's feet.

A white variety with a red bill known as the Cattle Egret is a similar species.

Little Pied Cormorant

Cormorants have a hooked beak and streamlined body allowing them to swim and catch fish under water. This variety is also known to saw in thermal up-drafts on hot days.

Cormorants can often be seen sunning themselves on branches or exposed rocks near the water's edge. They grow from 550 mm to 650 mm long.

Masked Lapwing

Commonly known as the "Spur Winged Plover", they hunt and nest on the ground in grassed areas. Adult birds grow from 300 to 350 mm long.

Plovers have a unique call and long legs allowing them to run quickly across the ground. They also have sharp spurs in their wings and will attack anything or anyone who gets too close to their nest or chicks.

Chestnut Teal

Teal ducks and similarly coloured Mallards (yellow bill) and Shovelers, breed in coastal areas then disperse throughout S E Australia. They become very tame and will often accept food from humans.

As with many ducks, the Chestnut Teal drake is brightly colored while the female is rather plain. Males grow to 500 mm and females to 450 mm long.

Wood Duck

A 480 mm bird found almost anywhere there is water below the tropics. They are at home in fresh or salt water and live in small flocks. Wood ducks are easily identified by their short black bill.

These ducks frequent back yards to graze on clover in the lawn. They make a mess in swimming pools and are considered a pest by town dwellers.

Alas, many of the smaller native birds including wrens, finches and grass parrots, hardly ever come to see us anymore. The smaller birds have almost been wiped out by neighborhood cats. Large flocks of some of these birds still exist inland, but they can ruin a grain crop in no time. All native birds are protected in Australia, so farmers have to devise ingenious methods to scare the birds away.

Not all birds in the wild are unique. Many species of migratory birds spend the summer or winter in Australia then fly off to various parts of the world to feed or breed. Other birds such as seagull and pelicans are much the same as elsewhere. Finally, please remember this; all cats including pet ones are instinctively aggressive hunters. Native birds and small marsupials have no defense against such efficient predators. Next to the destruction of their environment by man, cats are the single greatest cause of the demise of our little native friends.

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