Tuesday, 10 October 2023
To find out more about the birds in your area, try our handy Bird Finder tool.
Let’s get into it!
The Rainbow Lorikeet is the boldest and brightest of our common big city birds. Described by one poet as “paintballing” our city skies, these noisy nectar-feeding parrots have been the most commonly reported bird in our Aussie Backyard Bird Count for nine years in a row!
Learn more about the Rainbow Lorikeet
Despite their fearsome reputation, many of us welcome a backyard visit from the Australian Magpie and their beautiful warbling calls. And the swooping? Well, they’re only protecting their families!
Learn more about the Australian Magpie
Loud, social, and not averse to a little mischief (including rummaging through your wheelie bins), the Sulphur-crested Cockatoo embodies the Aussie larrikin spirit. Shame about your timber decking, though…
Learn more about the Sulphur-crested Cockatoo
Although their name is often used as an insult, the Galah is a favourite backyard bird species of many Australians (including Home and Away’s Alf Stewart). With their beautiful pink and grey plumage and playful nature, there’s a lot to love about these cheeky characters.
Learn more about the Galah
The Noisy Miner is the second most commonly counted bird in our Aussie Bird Count and one of our most controversial backyard birds. These native honeyeaters are often confused with the introduced Common Myna, but you can learn how to tell your miners from your mynas with our helpful video (below).
Learn more about the Noisy Miner
No other bird divides public opinion quite like the Australian White Ibis. Also known as the ‘bin chicken’, the ibis gets a bad rap for feeding on our scraps of discarded waste – and unfairly so. Since losing much of their natural habitat in the Murray-Darling basin, these resilient birds have adapted to life in our cities.
Learn more about the Australian White Ibis
Possibly the best-known sound of the Australian bush, the raucous laughing call of the Laughing Kookaburra is a popular sound effect in Hollywood movies. That laughter isn’t for comic effect, but to let other kookaburras know they had better keep out – this turf’s occupied! While much loved in eastern Australia, the Laughing Kookaburra was introduced to WA and Tasmania, where it is considered a pest.
Learn more about the Laughing Kookaburra
Do you have these fairies in your garden? Crowned Australia’s favourite bird in 2013 and 2021, the Superb Fairy-wren is a particularly popular and charismatic visitor to backyards across south-eastern Australia. Known for their dazzling breeding plumage and adulterous behaviour, small urban birds like the Superb Fairy-wren are showing concerning signs of decline.
Learn more about the Superb Fairy-wren
While still reasonably common, studies including the Aussie Bird Count have identified a significant drop in Eastern Rosella numbers in NSW, particularly around Sydney. Let’s hope that a can of tomato soup isn’t the only place we can see Eastern Rosellas in the future.
Learn more about the Eastern Rosella
Or was it a crow? Super intelligent, wily and mischievous, the Australian Raven is a much-maligned bird – but many of us admire them for their sass and cunning.
It’s easy to get your corvids confused, but our What bird is that? video will show you how to tell the difference between ravens and crows.
Learn more about the Australian Raven
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