Birds

Alcedinidae is a family of small to medium-sized birds in the order Coraciiformes. They are found throughout the world with most species in tropical Africa, Asia and Australia. The family contains 114 species.  Small kingfisher with slender black bill and short...

Anatidae is a bird family including ducks and most duck-like waterfowl, such as geese and swans. Anatidae are remarkable for being one of the few families of birds that possess a penis.  Actually brown, this dabbling duck can be quite tame in urban environments...

An egret is any of several herons, wading birds in the Ardeidae family, most of which are white or buff, and several of which develop fine plumes during the breeding season. Many egrets are members of the genera Egretta or Ardea which contain other species named as...

Artamidae are mostly crow-like birds native to Australasia and nearby areas. The Cracticids – currawongs, Magpie and butcherbirds, subfamily Cracticinae – have large, straight bills and mostly black, white or grey plumage. They are highly intelligent and have...

The Stone-curlews or Thick-knees are a group of largely tropical waders, though most species have a preference for arid or semi-arid habitats. They are largely nocturnal, particularly when singing their loud wailing songs, which are reminiscent of true curlews....

Along with the Psittacidae family (the true parrots), Cacatuidae make up the order Psittaciformes. Cockatoos share many features with other parrots including the characteristic curved beak shape and a zygodactyl foot, with two forward toes and two backwards toes. They...

The bird family Charadriidae includes the plovers, dotterels, and lapwings, about 64 to 66 species in all. They are small to medium-sized birds with compact bodies, short, thick necks and long, usually pointed, wings.  Small wader with a distinctive black...

The family Dicruridae is a relatively recent grouping of a number of seemingly very different birds, mostly from the southern hemisphere, which are more closely related than they at first appear. They contain boatbills, monarch flycatchers, Magpie-larks, fantails and...

Gregarious and often colonial seed-eaters with short thick but pointed bills, similar in structure and habits, with a wide variation in plumage colours and pattern. All the Estrildids build large domed nests. Require a warm, usually tropical, habitat, although some...

The swallows and martins are a group of passerine birds in the family Hirundinidae which are characterised by their adaptation to aerial feeding. Within the Hirundiniae, the name martin tends to be used for the squarer-tailed species, and the name swallow for the more...

A family of small, insectivouous birds endemic to Australia and New Guinea commonly known as wrens. The family includes 14 species of fairy-wren, 3 emu-wrens, and 10 grasswrens.  Small bird in forest, woodland and shrub land habitats throughout most of Australia....

Stocky, medium-large chicken-like birds with small heads and large feet. Chicks hatch fully feathered, active, and ready to lead an independent existence.  A large bird in rainforests and scrubland from Cape York to central coast of New South Wales. They feed on...

Honeyeaters and the closely related Australian chats are mostly found in Australia and New Guinea.  Large bird with black head and neck, striking turquoise blue patches around yellow eyes. White underbelly, golden-olive-green wings, tail and back......

The family Pachycephalidae includes the whistlers, shrike-thrushes, shrike-tits, pitohuis and Crested Bellbird, and is part of the Australo-Papuan corvid lineage.  The male has a bright yellow underside, olive green back and wings, and a black head with a yellow...

The Osprey Pandion haliaetus is a medium large, specialist fish-eater. It has no close relatives, being the only living species of the genus Pandion, which is in turn the only genus in the bird family Pandionidae.  Pandion haliaetus is a medium large, specialist...

A large and diverse family including pardalotes, scrubwrens and thornbills. All small to medium in size – some are very small, most are drab, inconspicuous, and often difficult to identify. Mostly insectivorous. They are most closely related to the honeyeaters and the...

A pelican is any of several very large water birds with a distinctive pouch under the beak belonging to the bird family Pelecanidae.  The Australian Pelican (Goolayyalibee) is a large water bird, widespread on the inland and coastal waters of Australia and New...

Small birds with a stocky build, large, rounded head, short, straight bill and rounded wingtips. Primarily insectivorous.  Small bird to 16cm long, smokey grey back, bright yellow rump, underbody, white chin. Occupies a wide range of habitats: heaths, mallee,...

Medium-to-large seabirds. The bill is long, thin, and sharply hooked. Their feet are four-toed and webbed, a distinguishing feature among the Pelecaniformes order.  Large bird (smaller than Pied Cormorant) black above, white below, common throughout Australia....

The frogmouths are a group of nocturnal birds related to the nightjars found from India across southern Asia to Australia. The three Podargus species are large frogmouths restricted to Australia and New Guinea, and have massive flat broad bills.  Large bird...

The true parrots are about 330 species of bird belonging to the Psittacidae, one of the two families in the biological order Psittaciformes. The other family is the Cacatuidae (or cockatoos) which are also parrots, but not classified as true parrots.  A parrot...

All Ptilonorhynchids are small to medium sized birds mostly from subtropical and tropical parts of Australia. Males build a bower to attract mates. At mating time, the female will go from bower to bower, watching as the male owner conducts an often elaborate mating...

The family Rallidae is a large group of small to medium-sized birds which includes the rails, crakes, coots, and gallinules.  Porphyrio is the swamphen genus of birds in the rail family. There are six or more subspecies of the Purple Swamphen, depending on the...

Terns are seabirds in the family Sternidae, with worldwide distribution.  A large tern, 45-48 cm long with a 100 cm wingspan. Adult has a black cap with a long crest, a narrow white forehead band, black legs and a long...

Typical owls in the family Strigidae are one of the two generally accepted families of owls, the other being the barn owls in the family Tytonidae.  Voice is a loud, two-syllable note "woo-hoo", each note lasting just over half a second with a pause in between....

The family Threskiornithidae includes 36 species of large terrestrial and wading birds, falling into two subfamilies, the ibises and the spoonbills.  Also known as the Bin Chicken, widespread in eastern and south Western Australia in marshy wetlands, often near...