Wildlife
The Aussie Backyard Bird Count starts today
This 23-29 October is National Bird Week, and you’re invited to head into your backyards to record local birdlife in the name of citizen science.
Tag: birds of australia
News
Scientists call on public to help save swift parrot
The aim of the crowdfunding campaign, ‘Operation PKO’ is to build a hundred nesting boxes fitted with a mechanical door that will keep out the birds main predator, the sugar glider.
Wildlife
GALLERY: the purple-crowned fairy-wren
Unlike his relatives who travel long and far to show off their colourful plumage, the purple-crowned fairy-wren chooses just one lucky lady. See his gorgeous violet-hued plummage in our gallery. Read more about purple-crowned fairy-wrens HERE.
News
Evidence of the elusive night parrot recorded in WA
Evidence of the critically endangered night parrot— rarely even glimpsed by humans due to their nocturnal nature and small numbers— has been recorded by Paruku rangers in Western Australia.
Wildlife
Urban birdwatching guide to Perth
From the ephemeral lakes to the woodlands and eastern hills, Perth abounds with birds – some 190 species in total.
News
New study reveals evolutionary history of Australia’s gigantic ancient bird
A flightless, plant-eating bird, mihirungs weighed 250kg and lived in the late Oligocene to the early Miocene, about 33 to 20 million years ago.
Wildlife
GALLERY: flocks of budgies in Alice Springs
During the hot, dry summer months, Alice Springs is often beset by a beautiful plague – flocks of thousands of green budgerigars (Melopsittacus undulatus) in search of increasingly scarce sources of water. Photographer Steven Pearce says that there was around 4000 birds congregating around the waterhole just after dawn.
Wildlife
Faithful golden bowerbird an indicator of climate change
Golden bowerbirds are known for their faithfulness: often the bowers constructed by these birds remain the same for up to 30 years. But when these intricately constructed twig formations start disappearing, scientists can tell something might be wrong.
Wildlife
Cats kill more than a million Australian birds a day, according to a new study
By combining data on the cat population, hunting rates and spatial distribution, these scientists have calculated that these invasive predators kill 377 million birds a year.
Wildlife
GALLERY: The colourful robins of central Victoria
The boulder-strewn open woodlands of central Victoria are sometimes referred to as the “robinfields”. It’s probably the only area where you can hope to see, in the one place, nine of the 20 species in the Australian robin family.