Little Pied Cormorant

The Little Pied Cormorant is a common bird found near many bodies of water throughout Australia. They prey on crustaceans and fish and can chase their food underwater or paddle on the surface with their webbed feet. They dry themselves on branches, stumps and banks by shaking the water off, preening and spreading their wings to be dried by the air. They breed in colonies and make nests in trees or on the ground.

Darter

The Darter frequents bodies of water of mainland Australia. It can submerge itself whilst hunting for food, either chasing prey or waiting for it to come closer with its head posed above the water, spearing any fish or other aquatic animals when they get close. They dry themselves by sitting on a branch or log and airing their wings, often preening to remove excess water from their wings. They nest in trees above the water using twigs and leaves.

Herons

The White-faced Heron is the most common heron in Australia, likely because they hunt a wide variety of prey, including crustaceans, fish, insects, spiders and snails and do not have to nest near water courses like other herons. They breed most of the year in a loose platform of sticks.

The Great-billed Heron lives in mangrove-lined watercourses in northern Australia, moving slowly along the edge of the water looking for fish, baby crocodiles and other aquatic animals. They nest in trees using sticks.

The Striated Heron also lives in the mangroves. They wander over the banks to get prey and can also dive into the water. They make a nest out of sticks in the forks of mangroves.

The Great Egret also belongs to the heron family; it is the largest of the white herons and catches pretty by watching and waiting on the water line, moving slowly and spearing prey. They mostly feed on fish but do eat crustaceans and amphibians. They nest using sticks either in trees or in reed beds. There is also a Little Egret which displays much of the same behaviours of the Great Egret, however is smaller and eats smaller prey.

Black-necked Stork

Also called the Jabiru, these birds stand between 1.1 – 1.4 metres high and hunt with a powerful bill. They can fly several hundred metres in the air and make a large nest (1.8 metres wide and 0.9 metres deep) up to 25 metres high in a tall tree.

Royal Spoonbill

The Royal Spoonbill gets its name from the shape of its beak. It wades through shallow water, slowly sweeping its bill through the water and scooping prey up once trapped. They build a shallow nest from sticks in trees or bushes.

Osprey

Ospreys prey on fish and keep close to the coast. Their territories can stretch between 5 – 20 kilometres along the coastline which they patrol for fish. They can swoop down or plunge feet-first into the water, snatching the fish from the water and taking it back to their roost. They make a bulky nest out of sticks, lined with grass and seaweed in trees, cliff faces and transmission towers constructed close to the coast.

Kites

Black Kites are mostly scavengers but do swoop on live rodents and reptiles. They mostly move around in flocks and nest in a rough platform of sticks in trees or reuse old nests left by crows or hawks.

Brahminy Kites are also mainly scavengers, living only along mangrove-lined coastal areas. Brahminy Kites are solitary in Australia, never gathering in flocks like Black Kites. It makes a nest out of sticks and lines it with leaves and other litter.

Orange-footed Scrubfowl

Orange-footed Scrubfowls live in dense coastal rainforest. They make a large mound out of vegetation and soil to incubate their eggs and can use the same mound for a number of years and likely pair for life.

Sulphur-crested Cockatoo

These birds congregate in large flocks and have their own roosting sites. They feed during the day and fly back to the roosting sites at night, even if it is far away. They eat seeds, roots, berries, nuts and insects, often damaging crops.

Papuan Frogmouth

The Papuan Frogmouth is the biggest Frogmouth, it has a large bill and eats grasshoppers, spiders, lizards, frogs, rodents and other birds. It is nocturnal and roosts in trees and other cover during the day, blending into the background and sitting still if it senses danger. They build a nest from twigs in trees.

Kingfishers

The Azure Kingfisher lives along coastal streams and mangrove-lined water ways. It spends most of its day perched about 1 metre from the surface of the water, staring intently for prey. It will dive down if it spots a fish or crustacean and bring it back to its perch to eat it. It creates a tunnel in banks for a nest and lays 4 – 7 eggs.

The Little Kingfisher is the smallest of kingfishers in Australia. it also sits on branches close to the water, watching for prey and nests in decaying stumps by burrowing into it.

Welcome Swallow

Welcome Swallows are fairly common throughout eastern and southern Australia. It makes a cup-shaped nest in many protected areas, including sheds, under bridges and hollow trees.

Shining Flycatcher

Shining Flycatchers inhabit mangroves and rainforest along watercourses. The male is totally black, a glossy shining coat gives these Flycatchers their name. The female has a glossy black head with a chestnut body and white chest. These birds flit around looking for insects and crustaceans and make a cup-shaped nest from bark fibre and grass.

Large-billed Gerygone

These birds are small and inconspicuous, darting around mangrove forests in search of insects. It makes a nest from shreds of bark, grass and roots, adorned with spiders web and lined with feathers. The nest looks like debris left from a flood, giving this bird its other name the ‘Floodbird’.

Yellow-bellied Sunbird

These birds live in gardens, mangroves and rainforests – wherever there are nectar bearing flowers. They make nests from bark, dead leaves, grass and cobwebs and can be reused for years.

Metallic Starling

Metallic Starlings are Australia’s only native starling. They are glossy black with red eyes and travel in large noisy flocks. Fruit is 95% of their diet and they are drawn to fruiting rainforest trees. Their nests are globular with a side entrance, usually in dense packs within the same tree.

Yellow Oriole

These birds blend in with foliage and sing sporadically, sometimes for long periods of time. They usually sit in one tree for hours feeding, until flying to the next. They make a cup-shaped nest from bark, grass, dried leaves and cobweb and lined with plant material.

Black Butcherbird

Black Butcherbirds are large and powerful birds. They are metallic black but have a grey-blue base on their bills. They live in coastal rainforests and mangroves and are territorial. They eat smaller birds, large insects, crustaceans and fruit. The nest resembles a bowl of sticks.