Tag:australian birds
There’s something pretty special about having birds flitting around your backyard. Whether it’s the cheerful warble of a magpie in the morning or the flash of colour from a rosella darting through the trees, birds bring life and joy to our gardens. And one of the easiest ways to invite more feathered friends into your yard is with a good old bird bath.
It looks great nestled among your plants and gives birds a spot to drink, splash about, and cool off—especially on those scorching Aussie summer days. In this post, we’ll walk through why a bird bath is a top addition to any garden, how to pick the right one, where to pop it, how to keep it clean, and a few extra tips for making your backyard a proper bird haven.
Why Bother with a Bird Bath?
Let’s start with the basics. Birds, just like us, need water. In many parts of Australia, especially when things dry out or during drought, natural water sources can be hard to come by. That’s where your bird bath comes in.
1. A Drink and a Dip
Birds use water for drinking and bathing, which helps them keep their feathers in good shape. A quick splash helps clean off dust and any pesky mites. Clean feathers are essential for insulation and flight, so your bird bath is doing more than just offering a pit stop—it’s helping them stay healthy.
2. Birds Galore
Pop in a bird bath, and you’ll likely start to see more birds in your garden—especially the ones that aren’t fussed about feeders but are always on the lookout for a clean puddle. You might be surprised by who drops by, from little finches and honeyeaters to bigger characters like currawongs or even cockatoos.
3. Natural Pest Control
Birds do a brilliant job of keeping insects in check. By giving them a reason to stick around, you’re also getting a hand with the bugs—no need to reach for the spray.
4. It’s Just Nice, Isn’t It?
At the end of the day, having birds around is just good for the soul. Watching them hop about, preen their feathers, or take a cheeky dip is a lovely way to connect with nature, right in your own backyard.
Choosing the Right Bird Bath
Alright, now that you’re convinced, let’s talk about picking a bird bath that’ll make the local wildlife feel welcome.
1. Material Matters
Bird baths come in all sorts of materials—stone, ceramic, metal, plastic, you name it. Stone and ceramic look beautiful and last ages, but they can be heavy. Plastic is cheap and cheerful, easy to move, but might not stand up to the harsh Aussie sun for long. Pick whatever suits your style and your garden best, just make sure it’s sturdy and safe.
2. Shape and Depth
Birds aren’t after a deep swimming pool—most prefer something shallow, about 2–5 cm deep. A gently sloping edge is ideal so they can wade in gradually. If it’s too steep or deep, smaller birds might steer clear.
3. Size Does Matter
A bigger bath can handle a few birds at once, which is a treat to watch during peak hour. But if you’ve only got a small space, don’t stress—birds aren’t too picky as long as the water’s fresh.
4. Easy to Clean
Trust us on this one—you’ll want something that’s easy to clean. Look for a bath that lifts off its base or has a smooth surface so you can give it a quick scrub now and then.
Where to Put Your Bird Bath
Location, location, location! Where you pop your bird bath can make all the difference.
1. Nice and Visible
Birds won’t visit if they can’t see it, so keep it out in the open where they can spot it from above. But don’t leave them totally exposed—some nearby shrubs or branches give them somewhere to perch and check the coast is clear before taking the plunge.
2. Safe from Predators
Keep it away from spots where cats or other predators might sneak up. No one wants to offer birds a drink and a trap at the same time.
3. Bit of Shade
In our hot climate, a bit of shade helps keep the water cool and slows down evaporation. A spot with morning sun and arvo shade is perfect.
4. Close to Plants
Placing your bath near flowering plants, shrubs, or trees makes it even more attractive. Birds love a mix of water and greenery—it’s like their version of a five-star resort.
Keeping It Clean
Birds like clean water (who doesn’t?), so you’ll need to give your bird bath a bit of TLC.
1. Weekly Scrub
Once a week, tip out the water and give it a good scrub with a stiff brush. You can use a bit of white vinegar or a splash of mild dish soap—just rinse well afterward so there’s no residue.
2. Top It Up
Especially in summer, you’ll want to check the water daily. It can disappear quickly on a hot day, and if you’re lucky, the birds will be lining up for a dip.
3. Winter Ready
In the cooler parts of Oz, bird baths can freeze over. If you’re in Tassie or the highlands, consider a heated bath—or just break the ice when needed so the birds can still have a drink.
4. Mosquito Watch
Stagnant water can attract mozzies, so keep the water fresh and moving if possible. A small solar fountain or dripper does the trick and adds a bit of fun, too.
Magpies are some of the most recognisable birds in Australia, famous for their intelligence, beautiful songs, and, let’s be honest, their occasional swooping! These black-and-white characters are often seen in backyards, parks, and even making friends with people. If you love having magpies around and want to give them a little treat, it’s important to know what’s good (and bad) for them to eat.
Magpies Are Super Smart!
Magpies belong to the same bird family as crows and ravens, which means they’re incredibly intelligent. They can recognise human faces, remember people who are kind to them, and even figure out tricky puzzles. Some magpies have even been known to mimic human speech! With brains like that, it’s no wonder they’ve adapted so well to life alongside us.
What Do Magpies Eat in the Wild?
Magpies aren’t fussy eaters—they’ll snack on just about anything they can find! Their natural diet includes:
- Insects like beetles, grasshoppers, and caterpillars
- Small animals such as lizards and frogs
- Seeds and grains
- Fruits and berries
- Carrion (dead animals)
Because they’re such great foragers, they don’t actually need to be fed by humans, but if you want to give them a little extra, it’s best to stick to healthy, natural foods.
What’s Safe to Feed Magpies?
If you want to leave out some food for your feathered friends, ensure it’s something nutritious and good for them. Here are some of the best options:
Good Foods for Magpies:
✅ Raw or lean cooked meat – A great protein boost, but don’t overdo it, and avoid anything salty. ✅ Cooked or raw eggs – Full of nutrients and easy to digest. ✅ Insects and mealworms – These mimic their natural diet and are a great snack. ✅ High-quality dog or cat food (meat-based, not grain-heavy) – If you’re out of other options, a little wet or soaked dry pet food can work. ✅ Unsalted nuts and seeds – Good for variety, but shouldn’t be their main food source. ✅ A little bit of cheese – Adds calcium, but only in small amounts.
Foods to Avoid:
❌ Bread and crackers – No real nutrients, just empty calories. ❌ Processed meats (like bacon, ham, and sausages) – Too salty and full of preservatives. ❌ Sugary or salty foods – Can upset their digestion. ❌ Avocado and chocolate – These are toxic to birds! ❌ Dairy (in large amounts) – Magpies aren’t built to digest lactose, so keep cheese minimal.
Why Mince and Bread Aren’t Good for Magpies
Many people think feeding magpies mince or bread is a kind gesture, but these foods can actually harm them. Mince, especially if given in large amounts, lacks essential nutrients like calcium, which can lead to weak bones and poor health. It also contains too much phosphorus, which can interfere with calcium absorption. Bread, on the other hand, is just empty calories—filling but nutritionally useless. Birds that eat too much bread can become malnourished, as it replaces healthier food sources in their diet. If you want to help magpies thrive, it’s best to offer foods that mimic what they would eat in the wild.
Feeding Magpies the Right Way
While feeding magpies can be a fun way to interact with them, it’s important to do it responsibly. Here are some tips to keep them happy and healthy:
- Don’t overfeed – A little treat now and then is fine, but magpies should still find most of their food naturally.
- Stick to natural foods – The closer to their wild diet, the better!
- Give them water – A shallow dish of fresh water is super helpful, especially on hot days.
- Avoid hand-feeding – It might make them too reliant on humans or even aggressive.
- Enjoy from a distance – Magpies are amazing to watch, so observe without interfering too much.
Why Magpies Matter
Magpies aren’t just fun to have around—they’re also important for the environment. They help control insect populations, clean up carrion, and even spread seeds. Their presence keeps nature in balance, so giving them a little support (without overdoing it) is a great way to appreciate their role in the ecosystem.
Final Thoughts
Magpies are clever, cheeky, and full of personality. Feeding them can be a great way to connect with these amazing birds, as long as you do it the right way. By offering safe, nutritious food in moderation and respecting their wild instincts, you can enjoy their company without causing harm.
So next time you hear that iconic magpie warble, take a moment to admire these incredible birds and maybe even offer them a healthy snack!
Australia is renowned for its extraordinary biodiversity and hosts a fascinating array of Australian bird species, each with unique behaviours, colours, and sounds. Attracting these birds to your garden can enrich the local environment and provide endless delight. However, creating a bird-friendly garden in Australia involves understanding and catering to the specific needs of native species.
Feeding wild birds is a highly contentious issue, particularly in Australia. While it is actively promoted in some countries, official advice from councils, environment departments, and conservation and wildlife rescue groups in Australia unequivocally warns against the risks of feeding wild birds. In Western Australia, it is strictly illegal to feed native fauna, including birds, without obtaining a license.
In an ideal world, people wouldn’t feed wild birds at all – but with as many as 30 to 50% of Australian households feeding birds, it’s important that people are aware of the risks of wild bird feeding and how to avoid harming the same wildlife they want to help.
Birdlife.org.au
Providing Food: Catering to Varied Diets
Birds have diverse dietary requirements. Providing an assortment of foods can help you attract various bird species. Key elements to consider when supplying food for Australian birds:
Native Plants and Trees
Native plants in your garden are the best food sources for local birds as they offer familiar and nutritionally appropriate diets:
- Nectar-Producing Flowers: Planting grevilleas, bottlebrushes (Callistemon), banksias, and kangaroo paws can attract nectar-feeding birds like honeyeaters, lorikeets, and wattlebirds. These flowers are rich in nectar and bloom at different times of the year, providing a continuous food supply.
- Fruit-Bearing Trees and Shrubs: Trees and shrubs like Lilly pilly, blueberry ash, and native cherry (Exocarpos cupressiformis) produce fruits that attract species like figbirds, bowerbirds, and silvereyes.
- Seed-Producing Plants: Grasses and forbs like kangaroo grass and native daisies can draw seed-eating birds such as parrots and finches.
Bird Feeders
Supplementing native plants with bird feeders can increase food availability, especially during scarce times:
- Nectar Feeders: If native nectar sources are limited, specially designed nectar feeders can provide additional sustenance for nectarivores. Ensure the nectar solution mimics natural concentrations (four parts water to one part sugar).
- Seed Feeders: Fill these with seeds suited to Australian birds, such as millet, canary seed, and sunflower seeds. Avoid generic seed mixes that contain non-native ingredients.
- Fruit Feeders: Offer slices of fruits like apples, pears, and grapes to attract fruit-eating birds. Never offer citrus fruits or avocados, as these are toxic to birds.
Regularly clean feeders to prevent mould and the spread of diseases and keep them stocked during peak feeding times.
Omnivores and Carnivores
Many people feed magpies and kookaburras mince meat, thinking it’s a healthy treat. However, mince lacks the nutrients that carnivorous and omnivorous birds need from their natural diet of insects, fur, and small mammals’ bones. Feeding mince meat to adult birds can cause health problems for their young, leading to brittle bones from insufficient calcium. Additionally, minced meat can stick to the beaks of birds like kookaburras and tawny frogmouths, which can cause bacterial infections. If you are feeding kookaburras or magpies, offer them dry dog food, crickets, or mealworms.
Providing Water: Essential for Hydration and Hygiene
In our dry Australian climate, water is especially vital for Australian birds, not only for drinking but also for bathing to maintain their plumage. Offering water significantly increases the attractiveness of your garden to birds:
BIRDBATHS: A birdbath, whether store-bought or homemade, can become a central feature:
- Design and Placement: Choose a shallow birdbath with gently sloping sides. Place it in a shaded area to keep the water cool and near shrubs or trees to provide cover from predators. Ensure the birdbath is stable and at a safe height.
- Maintenance: Clean birdbaths regularly to prevent algae buildup and mosquito breeding.
PONDS & WATER FEATURES: Integrating ponds or water features can offer a more naturalistic water source:
- Benefits of Running Water: Fountains, drippers, or small waterfalls are beautiful, and the moving water catches birds’ attention and stays fresher for longer.
Providing Shelter
Shelter is fundamental for protection, nesting, and roosting. Here’s how to ensure your garden offers safe havens:
NESTING SITES: Birds have varying nesting preferences. Providing diverse nesting opportunities can attract different species:
- Nest Boxes: Install nest boxes to cater to cavity-nesting birds like parrots, kookaburras, and pardalotes. Ensure boxes have appropriately sized entrance holes and are placed away from direct sunlight and predators.
- Dense Shrubberies and Hedges: Shrubs like callistemons, melaleucas, and wattles can provide excellent shelter for small birds like fairy wrens and thornbills.
LAYERED VEGETATION: Creating layers of vegetation can mimic natural habitats, promoting biodiversity:
- Ground Layer: For birds that forage on the ground, such as quails, red rump parrots, galahs, etc., use grasses, ground covers, and fallen leaves.
- Mid-Layer: Integrate mid-height shrubs and small trees ideal for perching, nesting, and foraging.
- Canopy Layer: Tall trees offer vantage points and nesting sites for larger species like eagles, cockatoos, and ibis.
Additional Considerations for a Bird-Friendly Garden
- Avoid Pesticides and Herbicides: Chemicals can harm birds directly or contaminate their food sources. Embrace organic gardening practices to ensure a safe environment.
- Minimize Environmental Hazards: Birds are susceptible to window collisions. Implement visible cues like decals, external screens, or bird-safe glass to reduce such incidents.
- Control Pets: Domestic pets, particularly cats, pose significant threats to birds. To minimise predation, supervise pets or create outdoor enclosures.
- Support Conservation Efforts: Participate in local bird conservation programs and citizen science projects like BirdLife Australia’s Atlas or the Aussie Backyard Bird Count. These initiatives support bird monitoring and conservation.
Attracting Specific Australian Birds
Different strategies may be required to attract specific groups of birds to your garden:
- Honeyeaters: Include nectar-rich flowers and low-branching shrubs for easy access.
- Parrots and Lorikeets: Plant eucalypts, wattles, and grevilleas for seeds and nectar, and install sturdy nesting boxes.
- Waterbirds: If you have the space, create larger water bodies with reeds and aquatic plants to attract ducks, swans, and herons.
- Small Songbirds: Dense shrubs and a mix of seeds and insects will encourage species like robins, flycatchers, and fairy-wrens.
Creating a bird-friendly garden in Australia involves nurturing an environment that harmonizes with local ecosystems. By providing diversified food sources through native plants, bird feeders, and favourable habitat structures, ensuring fresh water, and offering safe shelter, you can attract and sustain various Australian bird species. These actions enrich your garden’s biodiversity, enhance the local ecosystem, and add a dynamic natural beauty and activity layer. By fostering appreciation and conservation of native birds, you contribute meaningfully to the sustainability of Australia’s unique avian diversity.
Whether you are an ardent birdwatcher or a gardening enthusiast, a garden that welcomes birds can be a source of continuous joy and a testament to harmonious coexistence with nature.
The Cape Barren goose (Cereopsis novaehollandiae) is a large, flightless goose native to Australia. It is one of the rarest of the world’s geese, found only in southern Australia, with a large population on Phillip Island. The name comes from Cape Barren Island, where European explorers first sighted the geese. Their distinctive call is loud, deep, pig-like grunts or honks. The male makes a noisy, harsh ‘ark, ark-ark, ark-ark’ while their young make reedy whistles.
Appearance
Their unique grey plumage bears rounded black spots. The tail and flight feathers are blackish, with pink to deep red legs and black feet. In addition, the stubby triangular beak and green cere (skin above the beak) give it a very peculiar expression. Males of this species are slightly larger than females. While the Cape Barren goose has webbed feet, they are significantly less webbed than ducks, allowing them to spend long periods on land.
The Cape Barren Goose can be found across southern Australia. Their preferred habitat is water, such as lakes, dams, lagoons, swamps and rivers. Being herbivores, they graze predominantly on common tussock grass, spear grass, herbs, succulents, pasture grasses, barley, clover, and legumes. Like many seabirds, Cape Barren Geese can drink salty or brackish water; this allows them to remain on offshore islands all year round.
Breeding
The Cape Barren Goose breeds on the offshore islands of Australia and can be aggressive during the July to September breeding season. They lay their eggs in a nest in the tussocks of open grasslands. The male builds the nest from grass and twigs and lines it with feather down. Each breeding pair establishes its territory in autumn, prepares the nest and defends it noisily against other geese. They are monogamous and bond for life. The female lays four to six eggs and incubates them for 35-40 days. Once hatched, both parents share the brooding duties.
Conservation Status
During the 1800s, the Cape Barren Geese were hunted for food and eggs. By the 1950s, the Cape Barren Goose numbers were so low that biologists feared they might be near extinction. As a result, initiatives were taken that since then have increased the goose population to a level where they are no longer considered endangered. However, they remain one of the world’s rarest geese and have been protected since the 1970s.
The Phillip Island population of 3000 cape barren geese started from six birds, introduced in 1984. Tasmania serves them in restaurants, while permits to shoot and eat them were made available in South Australia in 2000.
The rainbow bee-eater is an impressively beautiful bird. Their plumage is green, blue, chestnut and yellow; they have slim bodies with slender curved bills and distinctive streamers extending from their tail.
Appearance
Rainbow bee-eaters are medium-sized birds measuring 9-24 cm in length to the tail tip and weighing around 27 grams. They have a long curved bill, a long tail and streamers. They have a golden crown on their head, and their red eye is set in a wide black stripe running from their ears to the base of the bill, which is edged in a narrow blue line. Their yellow-orange throat has a broad black band separating it from their green breast.
While the upper parts are green, they have copper flight feathers tipped in black and bright orange and underwings with a black edge. The bee-eater’s lower abdomen is blue. Female rainbow bee-eaters are similar to males but have shorter, thicker tail streamers. Juveniles are duller and greener and lack the black chest band and long tail streamers.
Habitat
The Rainbow Bee-eater is widespread throughout Australia, except in desert areas. They can be found in woodlands, open forests and cleared areas, often near water and farms with remnant vegetation, in orchards and vineyards. They will also use quarries, river banks, cuttings and mines to build their nesting tunnels.
Diet
Rainbow Bee-eaters eat all insects, such as dragonflies, beetles, butterflies and moths; however, they mainly eat bees and wasps. They have excellent eyesight and can spot a potential meal up to 150 feet away. Once they have spotted their prey, they swoop down from a high perch, snatching the insect on the wing in its long, slender bill. The bee-eater then carries their meal to a perch, where they beat the insect against the perch before swallowing them.
While immune to bee and wasp stings, they still rub them against the perch to remove the stings and venom glands before eating them. Rainbow bee-eaters can consume 700 bees daily, making them an apiarist’s enemy. Conversely, they also keep locusts, hornets and wasps under control.
Breeding
Rainbow Bee-eaters are migratory birds and move north, forming small flocks over winter. However, in spring, they return to breeding their areas. Rainbow bee-eaters are monogamous and mate for life. Once they have selected a nesting site in a sandy bank, they dig a long tunnel leading to the nesting chamber and line it with grass. The tunnel can be up to 90cm long. The female will lay 3 to 7 glossy white eggs, and both parents share the 24-day incubation period and will feed the young.
Threats
Hatchlings are at risk from cane toads, dogs and foxes.
Globally there are 250 species of owls; of this, 11 species are found in Australia. They are the Barn Owl, Barking Owl, Powerful Owl, Rufous Owl, Masked Owl, Morepork, Greater Sooty Owl, Lesser Sooty Owl, Eastern Grass Owl, Southern Boobook and Christmas Island Boobook.
Owls have long sparked our imaginations; their haunting night calls, silent flight, extraordinary hearing and deadly eyesight has seen them embedded in different cultures as symbols for magic, wisdom and mystery.
Bush Heritage
Characteristics
Owls are masters at silent flight. Their soft, uniquely structured feathers are serrated, affecting the movement of air over the wings. Additionally, the velvety surface of the feathers absorbs any sound made by flapping wings. Their silent flight allows them to pounce on prey with no warning. Owls have incredibly superior eyesight and hearing, and their forward-facing eyes grant them excellent depth perception, which is necessary for low-light hunting.
They can rotate their head 270 degrees, a vital asset when their eyes are fixed and cannot move within their sockets. In addition, their ears are asymmetrical on their head (at different heights on the side of their face), so the sounds reach each ear at different times, aiding them in identifying the exact location of their prey. Owls also have a facial disk around their eyes; this helps focus sounds to their ears, so they hear even the quietest sounds.
Behaviour
Owls are nocturnal (hunting only at night) though some are active at dawn and dusk. They are found in every state of Australia and vary significantly in size; they range from the smallest (Southern Boobook at 36cm tall and around 175g) to the largest (Powerful Owl at 60cm tall and 1.5kg). They live in various habitats, from snowy mountainous areas to deserts, from open wet forests to woodlands and grasslands. The Powerful Owl is territorial and has been known to attack humans, though most are solitary and shy.
Diet
Owls live on a diet of small to medium-sized mammals, birds and insects. Like most birds, they cannot chew and eat their prey whole or will tear off pieces with their powerful, sharp beaks if unable to do so. Some owls, such as the Sooty Owl, eat mainly tree-dwelling mammals such as sugar gliders and small possums. Others prefer land-dwelling lizards or mammals. Like other raptors, owls regurgitate the non-nutritious party of their prey. Several hours after eating, they will produce a pellet from their gizzards of fur and bone. They will then be ready to eat again.
Threats
Habit loss is the biggest threat to Australian owls as they rely on old-growth trees with hollows for nesting and breeding. These hollows take hundreds of years to form. Sadly, land clearing and bushfires are wiping out the hollows at an alarming rate. Another significant threat is secondary poisoning from eating prey such as foxes, feral cats, rabbits and rodents that have taken the bait. Poachers are also a concern, both as live specimens and eggs.
Status
No Australian owl species is on the national threatened species list. Some populations, however, such as the Powerful Owl in Victoria, are vulnerable, and the Masked owl is endangered in SA, Tasman and Victoria.
The Little Eagle is one of the smallest species of Eagle found worldwide. They are a small to medium-sized, stocky yet powerful birds native to Australia. Due to their size and colouring, they are often confused with the Whistling Kite.
Little eagles have short, broad heads with moderately long tails, square-cut at the tip when closed. They have two ‘phases’ in their colouring – a light and a dark phase. During the light phase, when in flight, they are often mistaken for the Whistling Kite. They have heavily feathered legs, and when perched, they have a short crest. The plumage varies from light to dark brown, with a pale broken ‘M’ on the upper parts, easily visible from a distance. The underside of the wing also has a pale M-shaped band. The broad wings have a span of one metre with dark tips.
Flight
The Little Eagle has a distinctive flight pattern of soaring in tight circles with flat wings. They advertise their territory by a soaring, undulating flight display and conspicuous perching and calling.
Habitat and Distribution
The habitat of the Little Eagle is dry eucalypt, sheoak or acacia woodlands, forests and open country. They tend to avoid rainforests and the densely forested area of the Great Dividing Range. Their distribution is widespread across mainland Australia and central and eastern New Guinea.
Diet
The Little Eagle is a raptor (bird of prey) and, as such, is a carnivore. They hunt for their prey on the wing or from a high, exposed perch, taking their prey on the ground or in the tree canopy. Their prey includes rabbits, other live mammals and insects and occasionally carrion. The Little Eagle originally ate a diet of small birds, mammals, and reptiles, sometimes supplementing with insects; however, their diet changed with the introduction of foxes and rabbits. As rabbits quickly became abundant across Australia, and they found them an ideal prey source, becoming their primary diet. However, the release of the Calicivirus in 1996 caused a sharp 65% to 85% decrease in the rabbit population. At the same time, the foxes were taking their traditional prey of mammals and reptiles. With rabbits now less abundant, they also have to compete against foxes for their traditional prey.
Breeding
Little Eagles breed annually. They make their nest in mature living trees in open woodland or alongside rivers and will rarely nest in isolated trees. Instead, they create a nest in an open bowl shape constructed of twigs and branches lined with leaves. The pair will build the nests in winter, and the female lays two to three eggs in spring. The female incubates eggs for the 37-day incubation period and then feeds the hatchlings while the male hunts for food. The male, however, will hatch the chicks while the female eats the food he has brought her. The chicks will fledge in summer.
In 2009 only three breeding pairs were recorded in the ACT. However, in the 2017-2018 breeding season, a minimum of nine nesting pairs of Little Eagles were confirmed in the ACT, with four more breeding pairs just over the border in NSW. Of those eight pairs, just one chick was raised. A Currawong destroyed one nest, another breeding pair lost their egg in a storm, and the other pairs either lost eggs to unknown means or did not lay.
Threats
The main threats to the species are secondary poisoning from rabbit baiting, plus fragmentation and degradation of its habitat. The habitat loss also causes the little Eagle to compete with the larger, more dominant Wedge-tail Eagle. Once common in the ACT, they have significantly declined by over 70% in the last 20 years.
Status
They are listed on the IUCN Red List as of least concern. The conservation status of the Little Eagle is secure in NT, Qld, SA, Vic and WA. However, it is considered vulnerable throughout NSW, with only a single population. The Little Eagle is not present in Tasmania. In NSW, the Environment Dept. has added the Little Eagle to the ‘Save our species‘ program. Among other measures, they plan to raise land managers’ awareness of the risks of secondary poisoning from using Pindone or second-generation rodenticides. Instead, they encourage alternative poisons and control techniques such as warren ripping.
The Tawny Frogmouth is a species of Frogmouth native to Australia. Their species name, Strigoides, means owl-like. However, while nocturnal and carnivorous, Tawny Frogmouths aren’t owls. They are, in fact, more closely related to Nightjars.
Appearance
The Tawny Frogmouth is a stocky bird with a large head, rounded wings and short legs. They measure from 34cm for females to 53cm tall for males and weigh 680g. There are three distinct colour morphs, grey, chestnut and rufous, with grey being the most common in both sexes.
Grey males have silver-grey upperparts with black streaks and slightly paler underparts with white barring and brown mottling. Females of the grey morph are often darker with more rufous mottling. The eye is yellow, and the broad, heavy bill is olive-grey to blackish and hooked at the tip. It is topped with distinctive tufts of bristles. Southeastern Tawny Frogmouths are larger than their northern counterparts. The name Tawny Frogmouth came from their diet of frogs. They can live up to 14 years in the wild.
Differences to Owls
The Tawny Frogmouth is not an owl. It’s a night-jay or nighthawk. They have wide forward-facing beaks for catching insects, whereas owls have narrow downward-facing beaks used to tear prey apart. Their eyes are to the side of the face, while owls have eyes fully forward on the front. Owls have curved talons, but Tawny’s do not. However, like owls, they have soft feathers for stealthy, silent flight.
Camouflage
The Tawny Frogmouth exhibits one of the best examples of camouflage and visual mimicry of Australian birds. They perch low on a tree branch during the day, and their silver-grey plumage patterned with white, black and brown streaks, and mottles allow them to freeze into the form of a broken tree branch, rendering them practically invisible. They often sit on broken branches and thrust their head up at an acute angle to emphasise the resemblance to the broken branch.
Habitat and Distribution
The Tawny Frogmouth can be found in almost any habitat except dense rainforests and treeless deserts. They are common across forests, woodlands, and urban and rural areas throughout Australia, including Tasmania.
Diet
The bulk of the Tawny Frogmouth’s diet is nocturnal insects, worms, slugs and snails, small mammals, reptiles, frogs and birds. They take their prey by pouncing from an elevated perch to the ground. They catch flying insects such as moths while the insect is in flight.
Breeding
Tawny Frogmouths have a regular breeding season from August to December, and both sexes incubate the eggs. The male will sit on the eggs during the day. However, both sexes share the egg sitting duty at night. Once the chicks hatch, the whole family can be seen roosting on the same branch, side by side. The nest of the tawny frogmouth is a loose platform of sticks in a forked tree branch. As a rule, only one clutch of 2 to 3 eggs is raised per season. However, southern Tawny’s may have two. The breeding pair will mate for life and often stay in the same territory for ten years.
Threats
Carpet Pythons take Tawny Frogmouths while they are roosting. When hunting prey on the ground, they can be taken by feral cats, dogs or foxes. The biggest threat to them, however, is habitat loss. They are reluctant to move on even once their habitat is destroyed, whether through land clearing or bushfires. Secondary poisoning from pesticides used in termite control and rat poison also impact their numbers, especially in urban areas. In addition, being nocturnal, they are vulnerable to vehicle collision as they have been known to fly after insects illuminated by headlights.
Status
The Tawny Frogmouth is considered of least concern on the IUCN Red List of threatened species.
The Wedge-tail Eagle, known colloquially as a ‘wedgie’, is the largest Australian raptor (bird of prey), standing at a metre tall. A truly magnificent bird, the Wedge-tail Eagle has an average wingspan of 2.3 metres though it can be up to 2.8 metres. They are Australia’s biggest bird of prey and one of the biggest eagles in the world and are similar in size to the American Bald Eagle. The Wedge-tail Eagle has a pale pink to cream beak, dark brown eyes, off-white feet and a wedge-shaped tail. They have a lifespan of 20 to 40 years. Males are 3.2 to 4 kg, while females are a slightly paler colour, larger and heavier at 4.2 to 5kg. Both sexes become progressively darker for the first ten years of their life.
Habitat & Distribution
The Wedge-tailed Eagle prefers wooded, forested land and open county. However, they can also be found in the mountains, near the sea, soaring in the air, or high in trees surveying their territory. The Wedge-tail is located in mainland Australia, Tasmania, and New Guinea. However, the Tasmanian Wedge-tail eagle is a distinct sub-species with genetic testing revealing the two species separated 200 to 1000 years ago. The Tasmanian population was established by mainland individuals flying across Bass Strait. Tasmanian Wedge-tails are darker in colour, have larger bodies and produce only one egg per clutch.
Diet
The Wedge-tails’ primary food source is carrion, preying on ground-dwelling animals and attacking with a fast swooping motion. Their diet consists of rabbits, mammals, lizards, possums, foxes, feral cats and carrion, and the eggs of other birds. They can carry prey up to 5kg in weight in their talons.
Eyesight
The Wedge-tail has binocular vision in which they can see their prey from great distances and in 8 times more detail than humans. In addition, their uniquely adapted eyes allow them to squeeze and extend their eyeball, enabling them to use their eyes similar to the zoom lens on a camera. Eagles have a third eyelid called the nictitating membrane. This eyelid is translucent and sweeps quickly across the eye from the inside corner. The eagle will sweep the nictitating membrane across the eye every few seconds to moisten and lubricate it. While it’s not completely clear, it still allows them to see.
Breeding
The breeding season occurs from June to October. They are monogamous, mating for life. Both the male and female groom each other during the breeding season. They build the nest together from sticks and leaves in the tallest tree in their area. The nest measures up to two metres wide and three metres deep. They often reuse the same nest year after year. A breeding pair usually only lays one clutch of eggs a year.
The female Wedge-tail lays a clutch of between 1 to 3 eggs over several days. Because of this, the eggs also hatch at different times. The female primarily incubates the eggs, while the male lines the nest daily with fresh leaves. The eggs hatch after 45 days, and chicks emerge covered in white downy feathers. The first chick that hatches is always the largest and sometimes kills the other chicks. The chicks are dependent on their parents for food for the first five weeks. The young Wedge-tail eagle leaves the nest after 12 weeks. However, they are not fully mature for six to eight years.
Threats
Wedge-tail Eagles are very common in Victoria. Sadly, farmers once considered them a menace. Convinced that the eagles carried off lambs, thousands of eagles were shot or poisoned. Subsequent research has found this false, as they rarely attack healthy lambs and never full-grown sheep. Current threats to Wedge-tails are loss of habitat due to clearing land and secondary poisoning from eating animals that have died from pesticides and baits. Road vehicle accidents also account for many deaths, with cars hitting the eagles while they are on the road eating roadkill. Additionally, wind farms also have an impact on their numbers.
Status
Wedge-tail eagles are protected in Victoria. Their status in Victoria is ‘secure’, and fines of up to $8000 apply to anyone found “killing, harassing or disturbing” the eagles.
The Rainbow Lorikeet is one of seven species of lorikeet and is native to Australia. They can be found all along the east coast of Australia, from northern Queensland through to South Australia. While they are similar in size to the Eastern Rosella, their brightly coloured plumage makes them easily distinguishable.
Habitats
The habitat of the Rainbow Lorikeet is coastal bushland, woodland, mangroves, rainforests and urban areas. They are communal roosters and join up into large, noisy flocks in the evening and early morning. However, they travel mainly in pairs. They are territorial birds, and each pair will aggressively defend its nesting and feeding area against all other birds. This aggression extends to larger birds as well as other Rainbow Lorikeets. They roost in treetops and rarely come to the ground.
Diet
Rainbow Lorikeets are herbivores and feed mainly on fruit, pollen and nectar. Their unique tongue is adapted to their diet and is long and flexible, allowing them to reach the nectar deep inside the flower. The tip of the tongue features a ‘bristle brush’ that helps lap up the nectar. Rainbow Lorikeets are the only birds in the world with this type of tongue. In addition, their muscular gizzard and intestinal tract are shorter than most birds. This makes consuming nectar highly efficient but ineffective at digesting seeds. While nectar forms most of their diet, they will also consume soft fruits such as apples, grapes, pears or figs, grains, insects, or larvae.
Breeding and lifestyle
Rainbow Lorikeets are monogamous and generally mate for life. They nest in tree hollows of eucalypts, paperbarks, honey myrtles and tea trees, choosing deep hollows from three to thirty metres off the ground to provide a safe nest away from predators. The female will lay 1-2 white, oval eggs up to three times a year. While their habitat includes rainforests, they prefer open country for nesting and generally don’t nest in rainforests. In Australia’s South and Eastern parts, they nest from August to January. In all other parts of Australia, nesting occurs year-round except for March. When the chicks hatch, they have no feathers and closed eyes. The fledgelings leave the nest after 54 to 57 days and join the communal roost. The Rainbow Lorikeet lives up to ten years in the wild and twenty-five years as pets.
Lorikeets as Pests
The Rainbow Lorikeet is considered a feral species in Western Australia (WA) after being accidentally released in 1968 from the University of WA campus. It is estimated there are now over 40,000 Rainbow Lorikeets in the wild in WA. The Department of Agriculture in WA has declared the Rainbow Lorikeet a ‘declared pest’ due to its behaviour of damaging fruit crops and bullying native birds out of their nesting sites. Consequently, they are considered a significant threat to declining birds species in WA, such as the Red-capped Parrot, Western Rosella, Australian Ringneck. The Rainbow Lorikeet is also a threat to the endangered Carnaby’s Black Cockatoo, Forest Red-tailed Black Cockatoo and Baudin’s Black Cockatoo.
Illegal releases of aviary birds in New Zealand in the 1990s resulted in a feral population of 150 to 200 birds. Subsequently, a live capture initiative from 2000 to 2002 eradicated them from the wild. However, they are also emerging as an invasive threat in Tasmania, where they compete for food and nests with the Musk Lorikeet, Swift Parrot and Green Rosella. Flocks of up to 100 birds have been spotted around the state though exact numbers in Tasmania are unknown. This has prompted authorities to trial a trapping program.
The Australian Laughing Kookaburra is a giant kingfisher synonymous with Australia. Their distinctive call sounds like a fiendishly laughing human and establishes their territory. Their call can be heard early morning and late afternoon. While kookaburras belong to the kingfisher group, they are not closely associated with water and rarely eat fish. However, they have been known to take goldfish from garden ponds.
Iconic Status
The Australian Kookaburra is iconic with Australian culture. For example, Olly the Kookaburra was one of the three mascots of the 2000 Sydney Olympics. Furthermore, a famous Australian nursery rhyme by Marion Sinclair immortalised the Kookaburra for generations of children. It is also the brand name of Kookaburra Sport, founded in 1890 and named after the original owner’s pet bird. They still produce equipment for cricket, football and hockey leagues, and the most widely used ball used in one-day internationals and test cricket.
Kookaburra sits in the old gum tree,
Merry merry king of the bush is he.
Laugh, Kookaburra, Laugh, Kookaburra
Gay your life must be
Except of Kookaburra Sits In The Old Gum Tree a nursery rhyme written by Marion Sinclair in 1934
kookaburra species
There are four species of Kookaburra. The Laughing Kookaburra is native to Australia and lives in Eucalyptus woodland and open forests all along the East Coast of Australia. In contrast, the Blue-winged Kookaburra lives in tropical and subtropical woodlands, swamps, watercourses, canefields and farmlands. They are native to Northern Australia and Southern New Guinea. Finally, the Spangled Kookaburra is native to the Aru Islands of Southern New Guinea, and the Rufous-bellied Kookaburra is native to lowland New Guinea.
SIZE AND APPEARANCE
The Laughing Kookaburra is 47cm tall and weighs around 465 grams. Head and chest are off white with dark brown on the back and wings. They have a light blue tinge on the wingtips and a conspicuous eye stripe of dark brown on the face. Their tail is broadly barred with black. They have a brown eye and large beak, dark on top and a pale underside. Their name comes from their iconic laughing call.
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Blue Winged Kookaburra is slightly smaller than the laughing Kookaburra at 42 cm high and weighs around 310 grams. They also lack a large brown eye stripe. Instead, they have a blue tail, with a large amount of bright blue on the wing. Their back is brown, and they have white eyes. Like the laughing Kookaburra, their large beak is dark on top and has a pale underside. However, their call is more similar to maniacal barking.
kOOKABURRA CALL AS SOUND EFFECTS
The iconic call of the Australian Laughing Kookaburra has appeared as a sound effect in many movies. This is regardless of where it’s set, considering kookaburras are only found in Australia and New Guinea. However, filmmakers seem to like including their laughing call to give the impression of an impenetrable jungle. The following are just a few movies that have all used its call.
- Tarzan, set in African Jungle
- The Treasure of Sierra Madre, set in a Mexican forest
- Raiders of the Lost Ark – in the Amazonian rainforest
- Lost World Jurassic Park – on a fictional island supposedly west of Costa Rica
- Swiss Family Robinson – on a deserted tropical island in the East Indies
- Romancing the Stone – a Colombian jungle
- Aquaman – in the hiddlen jungles at the earths core
- Listen to Laughing Kookaburra
- Listen to Blue Wing Kookaburra
Behaviour
Unlike many other kingfishers, they rarely eat fish and are closer to birds of prey. They are almost exclusively carnivorous, eating a diet of mice, snakes, insects, small reptiles and young birds. Kookaburras are social birds, accept handouts, and have been known to steal meat from BBQ. They also rarely drink water as they receive most of their moisture from the blood of their prey. Sitting in silence on a tree branch, they watch their prey before swooping down and catching it in their beak. They drop the snakes from great heights or bash them against a tree trunk or rock to kill and soften their prey before devouring them.
Breeding
Kookaburras live in groups and mate for life. The older offspring help the parents care for the new chicks. The breeding season runs from September to January. They build their nests in hollow tree trunks or excavated termite mounds. Their nests are bare chambers, usually no more than 12 metres from the ground. A female will lay 1-4 round white eggs. Both parents share in the 25-day incubation process. Once hatched, the entire family will help feed and protect the young hatchlings.
The chicks are born blind and featherless. However, they are still highly aggressive. The young chicks are born with a temporary hooked beak, and the first chicks to hatch have the advantage. The chicks use their hooked beak to fight the last chicks to hatch. The first two hatchlings will often peck the remaining chicks to death, thus ensuring more food for themselves. When the chicks mature, they stay with the adults, remaining part of the group and assisting the parents in defending the territory and raising future chicks.
Artificial Introduction Elsewhere
The Kookaburra was introduced to Western Australia in 1897 to control snake numbers. While the introduction was successful, Kookaburra’s now posing a significant threat to native lizard species. They also take up vital nesting hollows used by the endangered black cockatoos, impacting the black cockatoos’ ability to breed successfully.
Australia’s largest flying Bird – The Pelican, is a familiar sight along the Australian coast. It is often seen roosting on sandbanks, rocky breakwaters, swimming in lagoons, bays and rivers, and congregating in large numbers around fishing villages or where fishermen clean their catch. They are large waterbirds with a long pink bill for catching fish and draining the scooped up contents before swallowing.
Appearance
Pelicans species are mainly white except for the brown and Peruvian pelicans. The Australian Pelican is the largest of all eight pelican species. However, it weighs just 7kg because it has the lightest bones of any bird in the world, with air sacs in the bones and a network of air sacs under its skin. Their bill, the largest of all the Pelican species, is 40-50cm long, and they are voracious eaters, consuming up to 9kg of food per day eating fish, shrimps and yabbies.
With a wingspan of 2.3 – 2.6, they can soar to a height of 3000m and fly 1,000 in 24 hours. They are found throughout Australia, Papua New Guinea and western Indonesia, with occasional reports in New Zealand and various western Pacific islands.
Behaviour
Pelicans plunge their bills into the water to catch their prey, using it as a net to scoop up prey. While they may feed alone, they more often work together to drive fish into a concentrated mass before herding the fish into shallow water or ever-decreasing circles. On a trip to Lake Menindee one year, we went out to shoot a sunset at the local weir. We found a flock of pelicans waiting at the wall for dinner on arrival. As fish swept over the top of the weir, they would scoop them up at the bottom. Pelican version of automatic food dispenser 🙂
During food shortages, they have been known to capture and eat seagulls or ducklings, holding them under the water until they drown and then eating them head first. They will also rob other birds of their prey and take handouts from humans.
Mythology
Pelicans also feature in many myths and Christian iconology, including the ‘Book of Beasts”, a Christian compendium of real and imaginary beasts, with the Pelican symbolising selflessness and sacrifice. Colin Theile wrote the beloved Australian book ‘Storm Boy’, the story of a young boy living a lonely life with his reclusive father on the beach in Coorong, an isolated wetland region in South Australia. The boy finds and raises three orphaned Pelican chicks forming a close bond with them. In 1976 the book was adapted into a film, with a sequel in 2019. Mr Percival, the Pelican, died in Adelaide Zoo in 2009, aged 33 years old.
Breeding Site
All Australian pelicans mainly derive from just two breeding sites. On islands in the north of the Coorong, S.A. – Storm Boy country – the rookery produces almost all of Australia’s pelican chicks. The other is on various waterways of the Lake Eyre basin during rare flooding events. This year there was also a large breeding colony on Lake Brewster NSW, a remote inland lake.
In 1990, around 100,000 pelicans (perhaps a third of all the pelicans in Australia) on Lake Eyre produced 80,000 to 90,000 chicks, which later dispersed throughout the continent, including Canberra’s lakes.
About Regional
Breeding
Pelicans are gregarious birds and are monogamous for a single season, breeding in large colonies. While up to four chalky white eggs are laid, the usual number is two. Incubation is for 32 to 35 days. After hatching, the larger chick is fed more, and the smaller one eventually dies of starvation or siblicide by the other chick. The young Pelican can fly at around three months of age but still depend on its parents for food.
Landing and Take Off
Pelicans can remain in the air for 24 hours. However, they cannot sustain flapping flights over long periods. They use thermal currents to swoop and soar and cover great distances to overcome this. The landing appears similar to an amphibious aeroplane landing on a water runway, gliding to a stop using its webbed feet as brakes. Then, they skim across the water on takeoff, building up speed, flapping wings, and lifting into the air.
Pelican Feeding
Where can you see Pelicans being fed? Every day at midday on the foreshore by the pier at San Remo, Vic. The Pelican feeding at The Entrance in NSW has been temporarily halted due to Covid. You can see them fed at Ian Dipple Lagoon on the Gold Coast at 1.30 pm daily. The pelican feeding has been permanently cancelled at Kingscote, Kangaroo Island, SA.
