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.
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.
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.
Australia has the only birds in the world to have been seriously described as farmers. Bell miners tend ‘herds’ of bugs, whose sweet coverings they harvest as their staple food.
Four hundred and fifty of Australia’s 828 known species of bird can be found in the wet tropics and 12 of them — including the southern cassowary, golden-shouldered parrot and Victoria’s riflebird — are endemics found nowhere else in the world. We’ve selected five birdwatching spots within easy reach of Cairns.
From the coast to the rainforest-draped hills, Brisbane is a biodiversity hotspot bursting with interesting birdlife.
More bad news for the honeyeater whose numbers remain at an abysmal 400.
DARREN HAMLEY is a coordinator of gifted education at Willetton Senior High School in Western Australia. Earlier this year he asked his students to plan an expedition to photograph every species of cockatoo in Australia. They researched the best location to see each of the fourteen species and planned the trip from beginning to end researching weather, equipment, camping locations and where to actually find the birds. All but one was captured— the Palm Cockatoo, which is isolated by floodwaters.
The emus inability to fly has finally come in handy.
Most Australians know kookaburras as cheerful birds that visit the barbecue for a handout of meat, but they also have a far more insidious side.