BIRD LIST

The below list (work in progress) is compiled from the Gympie and District Field Naturalist’s Club bird list, the Noosa Parks Association (NPA) listing of birds sighted in the park, and the Sunshine Coast Council’s two bird guide sheets, plus from first-hand observation. Descriptions are based on information from ‘A Field Guide to the Birds of Australia‘ by Graham Pizzey.

 

Bird name Latin name Habitat Family Call / voice and alternative names
Australasian Bittern Botaurus poiciloptilus Reedbeds, rushes, cumbungi, swamps, lagoons rivers, wet paddocks, drains Ardeidae
Bitterns, Herons, Egret
Unusual voice resembling a distant foghorn, and thought to have inspired aboriginal bunyip legends.
This bird is also known as: Boomer, Bullbird, Bunyip
Australasian Figbird Sphecotheres viridis rainforests, eucalypt forests and woodlands, swamp woodlands, vegetation on watercourses, mangroves, leafy trees on farms, streets, parks, gardens, and orchards Oriolidae
Orioles, Riflebirds, Drongo, Starlings
Squeeky voice with downward inflection.
This bird is also known as Banana-bird, Mulberry-bird, Shrike
Australasian Gannet Morus serrator Seabird, seldom ashore Sulidae
Boobies, Gannet
Spectacular high-diving white seabird, also known as Diver
Australasian Grebe Podiceps ruficollis still fresh waters, prefers smaller waters, usually with sub-aquatic growth; in winter flock occasionally with Hoary-headed grebes on larger open waters Podicipedidae Its alarm call is a sharp ‘tik’; has a clear, angry chitter
Australian Hobby Falco longipennis typically found in open country with large trees and timbered watercourses, but also in nearly treeless plains and in city parks, gardens and well-vegetated suburbs Falconidae
Falcons
Has a shrill rapid-fire call that sounds like ‘kee-kee-kee-kee-kee’, more twittering than the Kestrel.
This bird is also known as Little Falcon, Black-faced or Duck Hawk, Little Duck-Hawk, and White-fronted Falcon
Australian Kestrel Falco cenchroides Plains, open foothills, coastal dunes and cliffs; also in farmlands, around market-gardens, city buildings, and railyards Falconidae
Falcons
Shrill, excited rapid-fire keekeekeekeekee near nest and when playing, else thin squealing ‘keer keer keer’.
This bird is also known as Nankeen Kestrel, Hoverer, Mosquito Hawk, Sparrow Hawk, and Windhover
Australian King-Parrot Alisterus scapularis Rainforests, wet eucalypt woodlandss and clearings, coastal woodlands and scrubs, areas with berry-bearing shrubs, crops, potato-fields, orchards, parks and gardens Polytelitidae
Longtailed Parrots
Scratchy brassy in-flight ‘chack! chack!’ calls, and harsh alarm screeches.
Also known as Blood Rosella, King Lory, Scarlet-and-Green or Spud Parrot
Australian Magpie Gymnorhina tibicen Likes trees and open areas, and can be found in orchards, on golf courses, playing fields, in suburban areas and gardens Gymnorhina
Australian Magpies
Rich mellow flute- or organ-like call, and is therefore also known as Flutebird, Organbird, or Piper
Australian Magpie-lark Grallina cyanoleuca Very wide. Absent only from dense forests and waterless deserts; likes trees, rivers, and swamps as well as urban areas Grallinidae
Magpie Larks
Mated pairs perform a duet that goes as follows: loud metallic ‘tee-hee’, instantly answered antiphonally with a ‘pee-o-wee’ or ‘pee-o-wit’
Australian Pelican Pelecanus conspicillatus Large shallow waters, coastal and inland, occasionally on open sea; also found inlands on mudflats, sandpits, piles, and jetties Pelecanoididae
Diving-Petrels
A rather silent bird that only utters the occasional gruff croak.
Also known as Spectacled Pelican
Australian White Ibis Threskiornis molucca wide-ranging, from pastures and swamps, over woodlands, tidal mudflats, to garbage tips and grassed areas Plataleidae
Ibises and Spoonbills
Utters harsh barks and shouts.
Also called Sticklebill and Sicklebird. As it is often found on rubbish dumps also known as dump bird
Australian Wood Duck Chenonetta jubata Earth dams, tanks, water among timber, swamps, lakes, reservoirs, sewage farms, ricefields. On sea, in bays and inlets Cairininae
Perching Ducks
The female does a long-drawn nasal ‘gnow?’ rising at the end; males have shorter, higher, more rising calls
Azure Kingfisher Ceyx azureus Mostly tree-lined creeks, rivers, lakes, and swamps with banks suitable for nesting. Also lives in tidal creeks, well-vegetated estuaries, and mangroves Alcedinidae
Kingfishers
Shrill squeaked ‘peet peet’, often in flight.
Also known as Blue, Creek, Purple, River, or Water Kingfisher
Baillon’s Crake Porzana pusilla Vegetation growing and floating in freshwater swamps, tussocks, waterside vegetation Rallidae
Crakes, Rails, Bush-hen, Native-hens, Swamphens, Moorhens, Coot
Various tones: a harsh ‘krek-krek’, a whirring ‘chirr’, and a soft whining complaint note.
This bird is also known as Marsh Crake, Little Crake, or Little Water Crake
Barn Owl Tyto alba Open forests and woodlands, grasslands with stands of timber, offshore rocks, islets and islands, farmlands, suburbs, cities. Occasionally roosts or nests in buildings. Also likes drive-in cinema screens and can be found in treeless areas where it nests in caves or on ledges Strigidae and Tytonidae
Owls
Utters hoarse thin wavering reedy screech ‘sk-air!’ or ‘skee-air!’ in-flight and when perched
Barred Cuckoo-shrike Coracina lineata Tropical and sub-tropical rainforest, scrub and scrub-margins, eucalypt forest and woodlands and clearings, swamp woodlands, timber along water courses, plantations, and gardens Campephagidae
Cuckoo-shrikes and Trillers
Pleasantly chatters, often in flight, and sounds like a toy mouth-organ: ‘aw-loo-ack, aw-loo-ack, aw-lack, aw-lack’. Apparently its range also includes a plaintive whistled ‘whee’.
Also known as Yellow-eyed Cuckoo-shrike
Bar-shouldered Dove Geopelia humeralis Typically found in vegetation near water, also in (sub)tropical scrubs, inland and coastal, scrubby vegetation and mangroves by creeks and swamps, eucalypt woodlands, crops, plantations, lantana thickets, and gardens Columbidae
Pigeons and Doves
Very high pitched melodious ‘coolicoo’ as well as an emphatic ‘hook, coo! Hook, coo!’
Also known as Kook-a-wuk, Pandanus or River Pigeon
Beach Stone-Curlew Burhinus neglectus Likes undisturbed open beaches, exposed reefs, mangroves, and tidal sand or mudflats Burhinidae
Stone-curlews
Utters a feeble alarm call ‘klee-klink’
This bird is also known as Beach or Reef Thick-knee
Bell Miner Manorina melanophrys Tmperate rainforest, wetter eucalypt or angophora woodland, with fairly dens shrubby understorey, visits garden feeders Philemon
Friarbirds
Clear high-pitched bell-like ‘tink’, varying in pitch. Typically uttered by many birds in a colony with beautiful tinkling effect, that can be tryingly persistent. Also sharp repeated ‘jak jak jak’ and hard complaining ‘kwee-kwee-kwee-kwee’; immature birds make a continual ‘yik,yik’
Also known as Bellbird
Black Bittern Dupetor flavicollis Leafy riverside, creekside or swampside trees, mangroves, in willows, on river margins, in swamps, tidal creeks and mudflats Ardeidae
Bitterns, Herons, Egret
Low pronounced ‘w-h-o-o-o-o’, repeated at intervals.
Also known as Yellow-necked or Mangrove Bittern
Black-breasted Buttonquail Turnix melanogaster Leaf-strewn floors of drier (sub)tropical rainforests, vine scrubs and adjacent thickets, including lantana, occasionally in pastures Turnicidae
Button quails, Bustard-quails
The female makes a deep ‘oo-oom, oo-oom, oo-oom’ sound. The male seems to hold his breath
Black-faced Cuckoo-shrike Coracina novaehollandiae Grasslands with trees, timber along watercourses, woodlands, scrublands, forests, as well as orchards, parks, and gardens Motacillidae
Pipits and Wagtails
Musical rolling or purring sound, as well as a higher note ‘chereer, chereer’ and a harsh scolding ‘skair’.
This bird is also known as Blue or Grey Jay, Cherry Hawk, Leatherhead, Shufflewing, or Summerbird
Black-faced Monarch Monarcha melanopsis Likes damp gullies in temperate forest to breed, then disperses into more open woodland Monarcha
Monsrch Flycatchers
Notes vary greatly, from ‘why-you, which-you’, over a harsher ‘which-a-where’ to a mellow, descending ‘which you’ or even a ‘why you, witch’. Seems to be able to slur as well, as in ‘r,r,rerr’ or ‘shsh-shsh-shirr’
Black-fronted Dotterel Charadrius melanops Shallow margins of rivers, lakes, on pebbles, gravel, or mud; in swamps and on the edges of dams; also in brackish lakes and on saltmarshes Charadriidae
Plovers and Dotterels
Single, explosive ‘dip!’ and tinkling rattles and churrings, often while flying
This bird is also known as Guttersnipe and Sandpiper
Black Kite Milvus migrans Open country, also along timbered watercourses, beaches, towns, airfields, rubbish dumps, slaughter-yards,cattle camps, homestead environs Milvinae
Soaring Kites
Feeble plaintive whinnies and trills.
Also known as Fork-Tailed Kite, Kimberley Hawk, and Kite-Hawk
Black-necked Stork Xenorhynchus asiaticus Swamps, mangroves, and mudflats, dry floodplains, irrigated lands, bore-drains, sub-artesian pools, occasionally seen in open grassy woodland Ciconiidae
Storks
Clappers its bills, and utters dull booms.
Also known as Policemanbird and Jabiru
Black-shouldered kite Elanus notatus Open forest, grasslands with groups of trees, farms, market gardens, sewage farms, vacant land with rank growth,attracted by mice  it can also be seen in outskirts of towns Elaninae
Hovering Kites
Its voice is a clear ‘chee’ with a sob in it, often repeatedly in flight; also utters a harsh ‘skairr!’
Black Swan Cygnus atratus Large open waters: fresh, brackish and salt, flooded pastures, green crops, tidal mudflats, prefers permanent swamps and lakes with emergent and sunaquatic vegetation, ornamental lakes. Occasionally on open sea Cygninae
Swans
Far-carrying musical bugle with a break, uttered in flight and when on water; also softer crooning notes
Black-winged Stilt Himantopus himantopus Fresh or brackish swamps, shallow river or lake-margins, dams, sewage farms, commercial saltfields, estuaries, mudflats Recurvirostridae
Stilts and Avocets
Falsetto yaps or repeated ‘boo’, mostly when nesting, immature birds have a thin whistle.
Also known as Pied Stilt, White-headed Stilt, Stiltbird, Longshanks
Blue-faced Honeyeater Entomyzon cyanotis Open forests and woodlands, timber along watercourses and in farmlands, roadsides, taller sub-inland scrubs, also sugarcane, orchards, golf courses, parks, gardens Philemon
Friarbirds
Strong, strident and distinctive: typically a penetrating querulous ‘woik, woik, woik’, or ‘queet, queet’, each note rising at the end. Also a softer ‘hwit, hwit’
This bird is also known as Blue-eye, Gympie, Banana-bird, Pandanus-bird (n.Aust)
Brahminy Kite Haliastur indus Coastlines, especially with sandflats, mudflats, mangroves, islands, tidal sections of larger rivers, beaches, harbours, coastal towns Milvinae
Soaring Kites
Stuttered ‘peeah-h-h’, feeble peevish trills, mews and squeals.
Also known as Red-backed Kite or Sea-eagle
Brown Booby Sula leucogaster found in (sub)tropical waters Sulidae
Boobies, Gannet
Also known as Brown Gannet
Brown Falcon Falco berigora Wide-spread: from clearings in mountain forests to open woodlands and treeless plains, farmlands, roadsides, coastal dunes Falconidae
Falcons
Probably the noisiest of teh Australian raptors: screeches, demented hoarse cracklings, at times like laying hen
Brown Cuckoo-Dove Macropygia amboinensis Mostly on margins of rainforests Columbidae
Pigeons and Doves
Mellow, high-pitched ‘coo-crrork’ or ‘cucu-rrorrk’, rising at end (‘did you walk?’) repeated deliberately seval times, In display a rolling ‘c-croor’.
Also known as Brown Pigeon, Brownie,  Large-tailed or Pheasant Pigeon, Pheasant-tailed Pigeon
Brown Goshawk Accipiter fasciatus Anywhere with trees, but typically more in open forests and woodlands, partly cleared farmlands, shelter-belts, roadside timber, city parks, gardens Accipitrinae
Goshawks and Sparrowhawks
Male utters a high-pitched rapid-fire ‘kikikiki!’, whereas the female voices a slower mellow whistled ‘yuik, yuik, yuik’, mostly near the nest.
This bird is also known as Australian Goshawk, Chicken Hawk, Pacific Goshawk
Brown Honeyeater Lichmera indistincta Inland scrubs, (sub)tropical woodlands, rainforest-margins, coastal shrubs, swamp woodlands and mangroves. Also in vegetation near watercourses, golf courses, parks, gardens Philemon
Friarbirds
Its song is strong, sweet and varied, typically ‘sweet-sweet-quarty-quarty’. Its alarm call however is somewhat harsh and grating.
Also known as Least Honeyeater
Brown Quail Coturnix australis Rank vegetation on low wet swampy ground, heavy pasture in damp paddocks, clover, lucerne, rice stubbles, grassy woodlands, in coastal areas it likes swampy heaths of sword grass and melaleuca and banksia-thickets Phasianidae
Quails, Pheasants and Fowls
A fairly loud whistled ‘f-weep’, ‘tu-weeeee’, or ‘bee-quick, bee-quick’, rising at end and uttered at frequent intervals. When flushed, sharp chirp or quick fluty chatter. Calls are heard often early morning, late afternoon and at night.
Also called Swamp, Partridge or Silver Quail
Brown Thornbill Acanthiza pusilla Foliage and undergrowth of rainforests, wetter eucalypt forests, woodlands, scrubs, creekside vegetation, bracken, rushes on swamp and river-margins, dune-vegetation on coast. Saltmarsh vegetation, mangroves, parks, gardens Acanthiza
Thornbills
Notes varied, many surprisingly deep, typical call is a baritone ‘pee-orr’, also many fussy squeaks and churrs. Excellent mimic, especially when stressed and during sub-song; its alarm call is a deep zizzing scolding like scrubwren.
Brush Bronzewing Phaps elegans Generally in cover with a scrubby thick understorey, coastal scrubs and heaths, understorey of eucalypt forests and woodlands, and on the dry sparser scrubs of coastal islands Columbidae
Pigeons and Doves
Muffled ‘oom’, uttered incessanly when breeding.
Also known as Box-poison Pigeon, Little Bronze-Pigeon
Brush Cuckoo Cuculus variolosus Rainforests and woodlands, leafy trees along watercourses, mangroves, roadsides Cuculidae
Cuckoos
A shrill far-carrying deliberate, usually descending phrase of 3-8 notes ‘fear-fear-fear….’. Displaying males utter noisy shrill rising phrases such as ‘where’s-the-tea’, ‘where’s-the-tea-Pete’, or ‘where’s-the-pippy’, becoming demented.
Also known as Square-tailed Cuckoo
Brush-turkey Alectura lathami Mainly coastal (sub)tropical and temperate rainforests and scrubs Megapodiidae
Mound Builders
Deep, fairly loud ‘kyok!’ with nasal quality, as well as loud cluckings and deep subdued grunts.
Also known as Scrub or Wild Turkey, Yellow-wattled Brush-turkey
Buff-banded Rail Rallus philippensis Vegetation by swamps, streams, tussocks in wet paddocks and woodlands, crops, rank pastures, samphire in brackish swamps or saltmarsh, and in homestead gardens Rallidae
Crakes, Rails, Bush-hen, Native-hens, Swamphens, Moorhens, Coot
Possesses an arsenal of sounds: sharp squeak like scratching a slate, sharp ‘click click’ notes, coos, thudding grunts. A sharp ‘crek’ or squeak when flushed. A call ‘coo-aw-ooo-aw-ooo-aw’, has even been described as ‘somewhat like a braying donkey’
Bush Stone-curlew Burhinus magnirostris Open woodland with fallen branches, leaf-litter, sparse grass, timber along dry watercourses, sandy scrub near beaches, mangrove-fringes, country golf courses Burhinidae
Stone-curlews
A far-carrying eerie mournful whistle of successive parts: starts low and slowly, is repeated, rises, quickens, breaks, descends, and may end in staccato chorus of ‘wee-wiff, wee-wiff, wee-wiff’ often by several birds and usually at night.
Also known as Stone Plover, Weeloo, Willaroo
Cattle Egret Ardeola ibis Floodplains, swamp margins, pastures, low fodder crops Ardeidae
Bitterns, Herons, Egret
Guttural croak, softer than other egrets.
Also known as Buff-backed Heron
Channel-billed Cuckoo Scythrops novaehollandiae Open forests, woodlands, swamp woodlands and scrublands, sometimes in rainforest Cuculidae
Cuckoos
A raucous, deliberately-spaced shout of ‘oik’, ‘awk’, or ‘wark’, repeated, rising slightly. Uttered flying or perched, often at night.
Also known as Flood, Rain or Stormbird, Giant or Storm Cuckoo, Fig Hawk, Hornbill, Toucan
Chestnut-breasted Mannikin Lonchura castaneothorax Grasslands near water, swamp-vegetation,coastal heaths, mangroves, overgrown wastelands and roadsides, pastures and cultivation, canefields, ricefields, and other cereal crops, lantana thickets Ploceidae
Australian Grass Finches and Allies
Bell-like notes, becoming a merry tinkling when a flock is put to flight, song of male very high-pitched wheezing, not easily heard
Also known as Barleybird, Barley Sparrow, Bullfinch, Chestnut(-breasted) Finch
Cicadabird Coracina tenuirostris Heads of trees in temperate and tropical rainforests, scrubs, open woodlands, paperbark-swamps, mangroves Campephagidae
Cuckoo-shrikes and Trillers
Male sounds like cicada beginning to call: a strange, loud, rather harsh, staccato buzzing repeated 8-20 times or more, slowing and dropping slightly; when chasing, reported to utter a soft, explosive ‘twik’ or ‘twok’; alarm-call, quick, slightly rolling ‘chuit’
Also known as (Jardine) Caterpillar-eater, Triller
Clamorous Reed-warbler Acrocephalus stentoreus Stands of reeds, cumbungi, river red gum regrowth, weeping willows, bamboos, even tall cereal crops over or beside lakes, swamps, or rivers, lantana thickets; often in public gardens Sylviidae
Old World Warblers
Rich variable liquid phrases, some metallic and guttural, others sweet, repeated in chant: ‘chutch chitch chutch, dzee-dzee-dzee, quarty-quarty-quarty’. Alarm-call sharp ‘t!’, also dry scolding rattle
This bird is also known as Nightingale, Reedbird, Reedlark, Swamp Tit, Water Sparrow
Collared Sparrowhawk Accipiter cirrhocephalus Temperate rainforests, coastal woodlands, to inland mulga and mallee scrubs Accipitrinae
Goshawks and Sparrowhawks
Shrill rapid ‘kikiki’, faster and thinner than Goshawk or Kestrel; can resemble alarm of Honeyeater; also slow mellow piping ‘yuik, yuik, yuik’; near nest, thin squeals
Also known as Chicken Hawk
Comb-crested Jacana Irediparra gallinacea Offshore vegetation on surface of lagoons, swamps and dams Jacanidae
Jacanas or Lotusbirds
Thin squeaky chitter or piping, usually in flight.
Also known as Lotusbird, Skipper, Lily-trotter, Water Pheasant
Common Koel Eudymanys scolopacea Rainforest, open forest, tall leafy trees on fringes of rainforest or woodland along streams or in stands in farmland, parks and streets Cuculidae
Cuckoos
Very vocal day and night during breeding period, specially in wet. Rather silent after breeding. Males utter repeated far-carrying ‘kooeel’, also brisk rising ‘quoy-quoy-quoy-quoy’, falsetto ‘quodel-quodel-quodel’ or slightly mad, rising ‘weir-weir.weir-weir!’. Female has shrill four-note brassy piping.
Also known as Black or Flinders’ Cuckoo, Cooee or Rainbird, Indian Koel
Common Myna Acridotheres tristis Urban areas, pastoral and agricultural districts near towns Sturnidae
Starlings and Mynas
Various raucous creaky notes, growls, and rattles, often strung together as song; on taking flight, a mellow liquid note. Alarm-call harsh ‘scairr!’ somewhat like tearing cloth
Also known as Indian Myna or Mynah
Common Starling Sturnus vulgaris Urban areas, settled, cleared lands, pastoral country, open habitats, reedbeds, tidal mudflats, beaches, islands, gardens, orchards Sturnidae
Starlings and Mynas
Characteristic descending whistlling voice. Alarm call is  a harsh decending ‘tcheer’ or a sharp ‘dick!’ singly or staccato.
Also known as English Starting
Crested Pigeon Ocyphaps lophotes Open country, generally where water is present, in settled districts often on roadsides, stubble-fields and other croplands, weed-grown paddocks, sportsgrounds, farmyards, country railyards Columbidae
Pigeons and Doves
Whoop!’ singly in alarm, or repeated
Also known as Crested Bronzewing or Dove, Saddleback, Topknot, Whistling-winged Pigeon, Wirewings
Crested Tern Sterna bergii Offshore usually near coast, bays, inlets, tidal rivers, salt or brackish coastal swamps or lakes, occasionally large fresh waters, occasionally follows rivers well inland Laridae
Gulls, Terns, and Noddies
Noisy, a somewhat rasping ‘carrik’ or ‘kirrik’
Also known as Diver, Greater Crested, Ruppell’s Swift
Crimson Rosella Platycercus elegans Rainforests, wetter forests and woodlands to above snowline, fern-gullies Platycercidae
Broad-tailed Parrots
Contact call mellow ringing ‘trip-klee’ or slow bell-like ‘klee-kleekeee’; in flight raucous brassy clanging ‘klee klee klee’
Also known as Crimson Parrot, Red Lowry
Darter Anhinga melanogaster Larger shallow waters, fresh and salt, rivers, lakes, swamps, lagoons, reservoirs, tidal inlets, estuaries, but not open sea Anhingidae
Darters
A brassy clanging, alarm-note is a mechanical-sounding clicking
Also known as Diver, Needle-beak Shag, Snake-bird
Diamond Dove Geopelia cuneata Near water in dry inland scrubs and woodlands, hilly country with scrubby trees, timbered watercourses Columbidae
Pigeons and Doves
Slow, level, mournful four-note coo, syllabized ‘oh-my-papa’, also plaintive slow high-pitched ‘coo-cooooo’
Also known as Little or Red-eyed Dove or Turtle-dove
Dollarbird Eurystomus orientalis Forests, open woodlands, and timber along watercourses, over open swamps at dusk, timbered suburbs of towns and cities Coraciidae
Rollers
Loud rasping accelerating ‘kak, kak,kak-kak-kak-kak-kak’ or ‘yap, yapapapap’
Also known as (Eastern) Broad-billed Roller, Starbird
Double-barred Finch Poephila bichenovii Vegetation along watercourses, drier grassy woodlands and scrublands, open forests and adjacent cleared lands, canefields, roadsides, wastelands, golf courses, plantations, gardens, parks Ploceidae
Australian Grass-finches and Allies
Toot like toy-trumpet, decribed as long-drawn-out ‘tiaat, tiaat’
Also known as Bicheno, Banded, Black-ringes, Owl, Owl-faced, or Ringed Finch
Dusky Honeyeater Myzomela obscura Coastal woodlands and scrubs, rainforests, vegetation along watercourses, mangroves, swamp-woodlands, gardens Meliphagidae
Honeyeaters
An obscure squeak, excited ‘see see see’ when birds chase, also a short mournful whistle with soft triling chatter
Dusky Moorhen Gallinula tenebrosa Well-vegetated  swamps, town lakes, rivers with wide grassy margins and stands of rushes or reeds, dense trees along banks or in water Rallidae
Crakes, Rails, Bush-hen, Native-hens, Swamphens, Moorhens, Coot
Noisy strident ‘kerk!’
Also known as Black Gallinule or Moorhen
Eastern Bristlebird (subsp) Dasyornis brachypterus Coastal scrubs, wet heathlands, reedbeds and thickets overgrown with rank vegetation Dasyornis
Bristlebirds
Loud and melodious, with sweet but strangely penetrating quality, ends in something of a whipcrack
Also known as Brown Bristlebird
Eastern Grass Owl Tyto longimembris Tall grass-tussocks in extensive swampy areas, grassy plains, swampy heaths Strigidae and Tytonidae
Owls
Hoarse thin wavering reedy screech ‘sk-air!’ or ‘skee-air!’ in flight and perched. Has alse been heard to utter a ‘thin quavery little whistle’
Eastern Reef Heron Egretta sacra Exposed reefs, rocky shores, beaches, mudflats, islands; roosts and nests in woodland, scrub, pandanus adjacent to beaches Ardeidae
Bitterns, Herons, Egret
A hoarse croak
Also known as Blue, Sacred, or White Heron, White or Blue Reef Hero, Reef Egret
Eastern Spinebill Acanthorhynchus tenuirostris Forests and woodlands, thickets along watercourses, chiefly in coastal areas or on Divide, occasional inland, coastal scrubs and heaths, well-vegetated gardens (especially on cultivated fuchsias, abutilons) Meliphagidae
Honeyeaters
Clear high-pitched staccato piping, sometimes long-repeated, may be brisk and explosive or soft and wavering
Also known as Cobbler’s Awl, Hummingbird, Spine-billed Honeyeater, Spiny
Eastern Whipbird Psophodes olivaceus Dense closed habitats, near ground: coastal scrubs, creek and riverside vegetation, undergrowth and floor of rainforests, wetter eucalypt forests and woodlands, dense thickets of blackberries, bracken, lantana, overgrown gardens Orthonychidae
Logrunners, Whipbirds, Wedgebills, adn Quail-thrushes
Loud whipcrack, typically uttered as duet by pairs
Also known as Coachwhip or Stockwhip-bird
Eastern Yellow Robin Eopsaltria australis Shaded cover, from lower levels of mountain rainforests to coastal swamp-woodlands and tea-tree thickets, orchards, golf courses, gardens, parks Muscicapidae (subfamily Muscicapinae)
Old World Flycatchers
Oft-repeated quick explosive ‘chop-chop!’
Also called Yellowhammer, Yellow Bob, Yellow-breasted Robin
Emerald Dove Chalcophaps indica Rainforests, (sub)tropical scrubs, wet eucalypt forest, streamside timber, lantana thickets, coastal and island scrubs, mangroves, farms, gardens, tourist centres Columbidae
Pigeons and Doves
Monotonous low-toned ‘coo-coo’ and ‘hoo-hoo-hoon’, with nasal ending
Also known as Green-winged Pigeon
Eurasian Coot Fulica atra Large fresh or brackish waters, inland floodwaters, permanent swamps, town lakes, reservoirs, sewage farms, brackish coastal swamps Rallidae
Crakes, Rails, Bush-hen, Native-hens, Swamphens, Moorhens, Coot
Noisy, with a variety of harsh notes, typically a sharp ‘kyik!’ or ‘kyok!’, and repeated raucous screeches
Fairy Martin Cecropis ariel Generally in open country, near water Hirundinidae
Swallows and Martins
Slight churring ‘drrt drrt’ or rolling ‘dzee dzee’
This bird is also known as Bottle, Cliff, or Land Swallow
Fan-tailed Cuckoo Cuculus pyrrhophanus Dense wooded habitats, from rainforests to red gum forests, also in open country, paddocks, roadsides, orchards, gardens, mangroves Cuculidae
Cuckoos
Strong, rather sad slow downward trill: ‘peeeee’, also a small voice ‘get-woorrk’ with rising inflection, or shrill slurred high-pitched ‘pree-eee’ or ‘to-brrreeet’
Also known as Ash-coloured Cuckoo
Feral Pigeon Columba livia Ledges and cavities in buildings, grain-handling installations, railyards, wharfs, streets, parks, gardens Columbidae
Pigeons and Doves
A deep ‘cocoocoo’ or ‘rackitty-coo’; persistent ‘ooms’
Also known as Domestic, Homing, or Rock Pigeon, Rock Dove
Forest Kingfisher Halcyon macleayii Open woodlands, timber and scrub along watercourses, swamps, beaches, mangroves Alcedinidae
Kingfishers
Loud high-pitched scratchy ‘krree-krree-krree’ and a high-pitched rattle. Scolding speech and chatterings near nest
Fuscous Honeyeater Lichenostomus fuscus Drier open forests and woodlands, river red gums along watercourses, margins of rainforests, inland scubs including belar and other casuarinas, and brigalow; gardens Meliphagidae
Honeyeaters
Often ‘arig-arig-a-taw-taw’; in song-flight deep metallic twanging ‘tew-tew-tew-tew’, ‘permewan-permewan-permewan’ or ‘clitchit-clee-you, clitchit-clee-you’, repeated
Galah Cacatua roseicapilla Open country with suitable trees, typically on watercourses. Grasslands, cereal crops, town parks, playing fields, even beaches Cacatuidae
Cockatoos
High-pitched splintered call ‘chill chill’, harsher screeches
Also known as Goolie, Goulie, Roseate or Rose-breasted Cockatoo, Willie-willock, Willock
Glossy Black-Cockatoo Calyptorhynchus lathami Usually associated with casuarinas in coastal forests and woodlands, timbered watercourses Cacatuidae
Cockatoos
Feeble whining or wailing, described as a soft ‘tarr-red, tarr-red’
This bird is also known as Casuarina (Black) Cockatoo, Leach’s Black Cockatoo
Golden-headed Cisticola Cisticola exilis Tall grasses, rushes, and rank herbage aroundswamps, drainage and in wet or neglected paddocks, roadsides, crops, blackberries, samphire on saltmarsh margins Sylviidae
Old World Warblers
Perched and in flight, breeding males utter incessant far-carrying insect-like ‘bhzzt’ followed by loud liquid ‘lek’ or ‘pillek’; high-pitched chatterings and scolds
Also known as Barleybird, Cornbird,Golden-capped Grass-warbler, Golden-headed Fantailed Warbler, Grassbird, Grass-warbler, Tailorbird
Golden Whistler Pachycephala pectoralis Closed habitats, rainforests, forests, woodlands, riverside vegetation, coastal and sub-inland scrubs, orchards, shelter-belts, golf courses, parks, gardens Pachycephala
Whistlers
Range of sweet notes, many robust and ending in sharp crack, others with curious in-drawn quality; typical phrases are: rising ‘wheat-wheat-wheat-WHITTLE!’, a brisks ‘dee-dee-dee-ah-WHIT!’. Contact-call: a single rising ‘seeep’. Like other whistlers, males often call after thunder, car backfire, shot or other sudden loud noise, hence ‘Thunderbird’, but also known as Cuthroat, Golden-breasted, White-throated, or Yellow-breasted Whistler or Thickhead, Ring-coachie, Whipbird
Great Cormorant Phalacrocorax carbo Coastal waters, bays, estuaries, larger rivers and lakes, farm dams Phalacrocoracidae
Cormorants
Querulous croaking, rising in cadence, rarely heard away from roosts or colnies
Also known as (Big) Black Cormorant, Black Shag
Great Egret Egretta alba Shallows of rivers, mudflats, swamps, lagoons, sewage farms, irrigation areas, larger dams Ardeidae
Bitterns, Herons, Egret
A guttural rattling croak
Also known as (Great)White Egret, White Crane
Green Catbird Ailuroedus crassirostris Rainforests and margins, densely-foliaged gullies, nearby cultivated areas Paradisaeidae
Birds-of-paradise and Bowerbirds
Loud, harsh. Typical call like yowling cat, frequently starting before dawn; a nasal, drawling ‘here-I-are’
Also known as Spotted Catbird
Grey Butcherbird Cracticus torquatus Margins of rainforest and eucalypt forests, open woodlands, coastal and inland scrubs, including mallee, vegetation along watercourses, shelter-belts on farms, roadside timber, golf courses, parks, gardens Cracticus
Butcherbirds
Beautiful deep mellow piping. In aggression a staccato rollicking descending shriek and a harsh grating ‘karr, karr’
Also known as Silver-backed Butcherbird, Whistling Jack or Jackass, Durbaner, Grey Shrike
Grey-crowned Babbler Pomatostomus teporalis Open forest, scrubby woodlands and scrublands Timaliidae
Babblers
Typical clear call ‘yahoo’ or brisk ‘gowahee, gowahee, gowahee’, rather like braying of distant donkey, also a strident ‘peeoo peeoo peeoo’ heard afar, or falsetto ‘put-yair, put-yair, put-yair’, incessant fussy chatterings
Also known as Apostlebird, Barker, Cackler, Catbird, Chatterer, Codlin Moth Eater, Dogbird, Happy Family, Happy Jack, Hopper, Jumper, Parsonbird, Pine-bird, Quackie, Re-breasted Babbler, Yahoo
Grey Falcon Falco hypoleucos Open habitats, semi-deserts, grassy inland plains, timbered watercourses, pastoral lands Falconidae
Falcons
Somewhat hoarse ‘chak-chak-chak-chak’ or loud ‘cluck-cluck-cluck-cluck’
Also known as Blue or Smoke Hawk
Grey Fantail Rhipidura fuliginosa Almost any cover with some moisture, from coastal scrubs and mangroves to rainforests, inland scrubs and vegetation lining watercourses and rocky gorges Rhipidura
Fantails
An oft-repeated, fairly sharp ‘dek’
Also known as Cranky Fan, Mad Fan, Snapper, White-fronted or White-shafted Fantail
Grey Shrike-thrush Colluricincla harmonica Most forests and woodlands, coastal scrubs, mallee and other inland scrubs, vegetation along watercourses Colluricincla
Shrike-thrushes
Typically ‘purr-purr-purr quee yule’, ‘yo-ho-ee’, ‘pip-pip-pip-pip-ho-ee’, ‘e-all, queel’ or ‘crook crook per kweee’, last syllable rising strongly. In winter utters single loud ringing note ‘dite’, ‘yorrick’ or ‘ching’
Also known as Duke Wellington, Jock Whitty, Joe Wickie, Pluff, Whistling Dick
Grey Ternlet Procelsterna albivittata Oceanic islands and oceans Laridae
Gulls, Terns, and Noddies
Round breeding colonies: rolling or purring ‘cror-r-r-‘
Also known as Grey Noddy
Ground Parrot Pezoporus wallicus Low ground-cover, usually in extensive swampy heaths, preference for drier ridges in same. Platycercidae
Broad-tailed Parrots
Calls described as thin and high-pitched, or beautiful and sweet: three or four measured bell-like notes ‘tee…tee…stit’,
Gull-billed Tern Gelochelidon nilotica Grasslands, plains, ploughed lands, airfields Laridae
Gulls, Terns, and Noddies
Throaty rasping ‘ka-huk, ka-huk’ or ‘za-za-za’, an insect-like buzz and a stuttered ‘kerr’ and ‘tirruck-tirruck’
Also known as Long-legged tern
Horsfield’s Bronze-Cuckoo Chrysococcyx basalis Open woodlands, scrublands and most open or partly open country, mallee, mulga and saltbush in inland to saltmarsh, samphire or mangroves on coast, roadsides, golf courses, orchards, gardens Cuculidae
Cuckoos
Single long-descending ‘tseeeuw’, ‘prrelll’ or ‘pir-r-r, repeated persistently
Also known as Narrow-billed or Rufous-tailed Bronze-cuckoo
House Sparrow        
Indian Myna        
Jacky Winter        
King Parrot        
King Quail        
Large-billed Scrubwren        
Laughing Kookaburra        
Leaden Flycatcher        
Lewin’s Honeyeater        
Lewin’s Rail        
Little Black Cormorant        
Little Bronze-Cuckoo        
Little Eagle        
Little Egret        
Little Friarbird        
Little Grassbird        
Little Lorikeet        
Little Pied Cormorant        
Little Shrike-thrush        
Little Wattlebird        
Logrunner        
Lorikeet        
Magpie Goose        
Magpie-lark        
Maned Duck        
Marbled Frogmouth        
Masked Booby        
Masked Lapwing        
Mistletoebird        
Nankeen Kestrel        
Noisy Friarbird        
Noisy Miner        
Noisy Pitta        
Nutmeg Mannikin        
Olive-backed Oriole        
Oriental Cuckoo        
Osprey        
Pacific Baza        
Pacific Black Duck        
Pacific Heon        
Painted Button-quail        
Pale-headed Rosella        
Pale-vented Bush-hen        
Pale-yellow Robin        
Pallid Cuckoo        
Paradise Riflebird        
Peaceful Dove        
Peewee        
Peregrine Falcon        
Pheasant Coucal        
Pied Butcherbird        
Pied Cormorant        
Pied Currawong        
Pied Oystercatcher        
Plumed Whistling-Duck        
Powerful Owl        
Purple Swamphen        
Rainbow Bee-eater        
Rainbow Lorikeet        
Red-backed Button-quail        
Red-backed Fairy-Wren        
Red-browed Finch        
Red-browed Firetail        
Regent Bowerbird        
Restless Flycatcher        
Richard’s Pipit        
Rock Dove        
Rose-crowned Fruit-Dove        
Rose Robin        
Royal Spoonbill        
Rufous Fantail        
Rufous-throated Honeyeater        
Rufous Whistler        
Russet-tailed Thrush        
Sacred Ibis        
Sacred Kingfisher        
Satin Flycatcher        
Scaly-breasted Lorikeet        
Scarlet Honeyeater        
Shining Bronze-Cuckoo        
Shining Flycatcher        
Short-tailed Shearwater        
Silvereye        
Silver Gull        
Spectacled Monarch        
Sooty Owl        
Sooty Oystercatcher        
Southern Boobook        
Southern Emu-wren        
Spangled Drongo        
Spotless Crake        
Spotted Turtle-Dove        
Spotted Pardalote        
Square-tailed Kite        
Strawneck Egret        
Straw-necked ibis        
Striated Pardalote        
Striated Thornbill        
Striped Honeyeater        
Superb Fairy-wren        
Superb Fruit-dove        
Sulphur-crested Cockatoo        
Tawny Frogmouth        
Tawny Grassbird        
Torresian Crow        
Tree Martin        
Varied Sittella        
Varied Thriller        
Variegated Fairy-Wren        
Wandering Tattler        
Wedge-tailed Eagle        
Wedge-tailed Shearwater        
Welcome Swallow        
Whipbird        
Whiskered Tern        
Whistling Kite        
White-bellied Cuckoo-Shrike        
White-bellied Sea-Eagle        
White-breasted Woodswallow        
White-browed Scrubwren        
White-cheeked Honeyeater        
White-eared Monarch        
White-eyed Duck        
White-faced Heron       incorrectly also called ‘Blue Crane’
White-headed Pigeon        
White Pygmy-goose     Cairininae
Perching Ducks
Also known as Cotton Teal
White-tailed Tropicbird        
White-throated Gerygone        
White-throated Honeyeater        
White-throated Needletail        
White-throated Nightjar        
White-throated Treecreeper        
White-winged Tern        
White-winged Triller        
Willie Wagtail        
Wompoo Fruit-dove        
Yellow-billed Spoonbill        
Yellow-faced Honeyeater        
Yellow-rumped Thornbill        
Yellow-tailed Black-Cockatoo        
Yellow-tufted Honeyeater        
Yellow Thornbill