UNDER CONSTRUCTIONSome information on individual birds in the Survey List
Choose your bird from the options below:
UNDER CONSTRUCTION
(only just started! More information to be added as it becomes available)
Name of Bird (in List order): A-K or L-Z?
Name of Bird (by Main Name): A-K or L-Z?
Look-alikes and other sources of confusion: Some help.
Some useful books
| Name of Bird (in List order) |
Hear | See |
| Australian Magpie |  |
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| Australian Wood Duck (a.k.a Maned Duck) | |
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| Black-faced cuckoo-shrike |  |
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| Brown Thornbill | |
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| Common Blackbird | |
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| Common Myna | |
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| Crimson Rosella | |
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| Eastern Rosella | |
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| Eastern Spinebill | |
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| Galah | |
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| Gang Gang | |
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| Grey Butcherbird | |
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| Grey Currawong | |
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| Grey Fantail | |
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| King Parrot | |
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| Return to top of page | ||
| Laughing Kookaburra | |
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| Little Wattlebird | |
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| Little Raven | |
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| Musk Lorrikeet | |
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| Noisy Miner | |
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| Peewit/Magpie Lark | |
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| Pied Currawong | |
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| Rainbow Lorrikeet | |
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| Red Wattlebird | |
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| Spotted Pardalote | |
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| Spotted Turtle Dove | |
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| Tawny Frogmouth | |
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| Yellow-tailed Blackcockatoo | |
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| Name of Bird (By main name) | Hear | See |
| Common Blackbird | |
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| Yellow-tailed Blackcockatoo | |
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| Grey Butcherbird | |
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| Black-faced Cuckoo-shrike | |
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| Grey Currawong | |
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| Pied Currawong | |
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| Grey Fantail | |
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| Tawny Frogmouth | |
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| Galah | |
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| Gang Gang | |
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| Laughing Kookaburra | |
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| Return to top of page | ||
| Musk Lorrikeet | |
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| Rainbow Lorrikeet | |
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| Australian Magpie | |
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| Peewit/Magpie Lark | |
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| Noisy Miner | |
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| Common Myna | |
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| Spotted Pardalote | |
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| King Parrot | |
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| Peewit/Magpie Lark | |
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| Little Raven | |
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| Crimson Rosella | |
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| Eastern Rosella | |
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| Eastern Spinebill | |
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| Brown Thornbill | |
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| Spotted Turtle Dove | |
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| Little Wattlebird | |
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| Red Wattlebird | |
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| Australian Wood Duck (a.k.a Maned Duck) | |
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| SOURCES OF CONFUSION | More Information |
| Is this really a Blackbird? | Info |
| Black-and-white birds | Info |
| Currawong or Magpie? | Info |
| Galah or Gang Gang? | Info |
| Musk Lorrikeet or Rainbow Lorrikeet? | Info |
| Noisy Miner or Common Myna? | Info |
| Rosella or Spotted Pardalote? | Info |
| King Parrot or Eastern Rosella? | Info |
| Australian Raven or Little Raven? | Info |
| Crimson Rosella or Eastern Rosella? | Info |
| Little Wattlebird or Red Wattlebird? | Info |
SOURCES OF CONFUSION
Q: Is this really a Blackbird?
A: Only the male bird has the characteristic black plumage and the yellow-orange beak, the female (and the immature birds) are dark brown and have a brown beak
Q: What are those Black-and-white birds?
A: There are several black-and-white birds commonly seen in the area:
Big: Magpies and Currawongs (for more Info see below)
Medium size: Butcherbirds 24-30 cm, black head, white underside, are well known for their melodious song. Magpie Larks 26-30cm, are much more chequered than Butcherbirds; the male has a black face and throat, the female a white forehead and throat; both have a white panel down the side of the neck. They very commonly move as male/female pair in close proximity.
Q: Currawong or Magpie?
A: Currawong: (Greyish, occasionally brownish) black plumage except for white tips on tail and part of wing feather (visible when flying), black beak and highly visible yellow eye. Size: 45-50cm. Locally the Grey Currawong appears to be the resident bird. Differentiation between this and the Pied Currawong is not always easy as both birds share the basic characteristics. If visible, the white stripe across the "small of the back", absent in the Grey Currawong, is a good way of identifying the Pied Currawong. This contrasts with the Magpie: A big part of the back is white (male) or white to grey (female and immature), it also has a whitish beak and a red-brown eye. Size: 38-44cm
Q: Galah or Gang Gang?
A: Although the typical 'squeaking door' sound of the Gang Gang Cockatoo may sometimes be confused with the screetches of the Galah, the Galah has a pink underside and a grey back and tail, the Gang Gang a dark grey body upper and under. The male only of the Gang Gang has a fiery red head with a distinctive flame-like crest, the Galah a low white or pale pink crown.
Q: Lorrikeets: Musk Lorrikeet or Rainbow Lorrikeet?
A: Musk Lorrikeets and Rainbow Lorrikeets often move in the same feeding flock, however the smaller (20-23cm) Musk Lorrikeets can be distinguished by their bright red forehead and ear coverts, blackish beak with red tips from the bigger (25-32cm) Rainbow Lorrikeets with their blue head, scarlet beak
Q: Noisy Miner vs Common Myna?
A: Inspite of their similar names the two birds share little more than their relative pugnaciousness. Both often congregate in rather noisy parties. However, the Noisy Miner (24-27cm) has a wide range of calls. Its forehead is whitish with black crown and cheeks. The rest of the body is grey. The Common Myna (23-25cm) belongs to a group of birds brought into the country in the 1860s; its earlier name was Indian Myna(h). Like the Noisy Miner it has a yellow beak, yellow legs and a patch of bare yellow skin behind the eye; however its plumage is dark brown, its head and throat glossy black. Its common manner of walking, half strutting, half hopping, earned him the nickname of "Street Larrikin".
Q: Is this a Rosella or a Spotted Pardalote calling?
A: The song of these two birds may sometimes appear to be the same, as one of the calls of the Eastern Rosella is similar to the most common call of the Spotted Pardalote. However, the call of the latter is a three syllable call which could be described as "Stop piggy!" while the Rosella call lacks the first syllable: "Piggy!"
Q: King Parrot or Crimson Rosella?
A: Characteristics to look for include the blue cheek patches and the black mottled back of the Crimson Rosella in contrast to the brilliant red head and body of the male King Parrot, and the generally solidly dark green wings of both sexes.
Q: Australian Raven or Little Raven?
A: Visually these two birds are very often difficult to differentiate from each other, as the shaggy bunch of feathers on the throat of the Australian Raven is not always readily visible. However, the birds can generally more easily be told apart by the absence (Little raven) or presence (Australian Raven) of the drawn out, descending "ah" at the end of the call.
Q: Crimson Rosella or Eastern Rosella?
A: While there is an overlap of where these two birds occur, the Eastern Rosella is more likely to frequent open grassy areas, than the Crimson Rosella. The adult of the Crimson Rosella is readily identified by its red head and rump and its blue shoulders and tail. The immature bird is differentiated from the Eastern Rosella by the blue cheeks of the Crimson Rosella, as against the white cheeks of the Eastern Rosella.
Q: Little Wattlebird or Red Wattlebird?
A: The word "wattle" in the bird's name refers to the fleshy appendage on the cheek of the Red Wattlebird; in spite of its official name the Little Wattlebird lacks this characteristic, and at least one source uses the name 'Banksia Honeyeater'. This alternative name for the Little Wattlebird refers to the main feeding habitat. This may explain why the local bushland is generally the reserve of the Red Wattlebird, although the Little Wattlebird may be found in nearby streets. Its 'squeaky' call contrasts with the raucous 'Ulladulla' of the Red Wattlebird. Apart from its call, two visual features readily identify the Red Wattlebird: its red wattles and its yellow belly.
Some books, other than the regular, comprehensive guides, we found useful:
(See also the CD mentioned elsewhere)
LINDSEY, Terence 1998 Parrots of Australia. Sydney: New Holland
{A good book on Rosellas, Lorikeets, Cockatoos etc.}
KLOOT, Tess 2000 Birds of Box Hill. Melbourne: Victorian Ornithological Research Group
{A handy quick reference book which covers most of the birds found in other parts of the City of Whitehorse}