Many Australian birds come under different category's, for instance, there are ground birds, canopy birds, free soaring birds, sea birds and flightless birds. There are birds who live in rain forests, ordinary forests, deserts, swamps lands, mountains etc. Lets look at some forest dwellers, below is the Fairy Wren, a beautiful tiny creature, pictured with his family and a Red Breasted Wren.

                                    

 

These Pink & Grey Galahs are the jokers of the plains and roam far & wide in huge colonies. They usually nest in hollow trees but will utilize cracks in high cliffs. They do a lot of damage to farmers crops when they are in season and they are always stay in reach of water. The male bird can be taught to talk freely and make great pets. The Sulphur Crested Cockatoo is also common in the drier areas.

This guy can also be trained to talk and mimics sounds also but they must be trained from a very early age. There used to be many millions of these birds in rural Australia but the over clearing of bush and old trees has robbed them of many breeding places. They are often found near towns and cities these days as they roam around looking for food and water. The black cockatoo is a much larger bird and has a very distinctive cry, their numbers are also decreasing with time.

Found in the rain forest and warmer climates are many colourful parrots such as the Green Parrot and the 'Mallelectus'. 

   The Malleelectus are not as numerous as other species and must be protected, their brilliant plumage is so bright. Almost everyone knows about the humble 'Budgerigar' who is a native of Australia, but do they realise that the whole range of colours came from the basic green colour. These are the smallest of the parakeet type birds. This Green Parrot while he is not so colourful, he blends perfectly with the foliage in the bush.

There many of the usual kinds of birds, like the Magpies, mudlarks, Crows, Doves and Honeyeaters, plus the Wattlebird and finches of all types. The birds of prey including the Wedge Tail Eagle down to the smaller Peregrine, Kestrel and Hawk type families. The largest Bird we have is the flightless Emu, which resembles the Ostrich. The Cassowary and the Scrub Turkeys are quite large birds. The Water Birds are represented by the Black Swan pictured below. There is a whole range of aquatic birds like ducks etc.

The Black Swan is the emblem of WA. The beach side resorts and rivers are also home to many saltwater birds like the Pelican, Gulls, Cormorants, Stilts and Terns and sandpipers. There are also many migratory birds who arrive in Australia during the warmer spring and summer seasons. 

 

 

These Rainbow Lorikeets being fed by my son Peter then 10 now wallowing in his 40's, are very easy to see in Wildlife parks where they can be fed bread, milk & honey. The Little Lorikeets are not so common.

 

                      

This White Cheeked Rosella has so many colours that maybe it should be called a 'Rainbow Rosella' ?

 

 

 

 

 

 

As you can see there are many, many different types of birds of all colours and varied sizes. There are far too many to mention here, but I hope you get some idea as of the large range of sizes and colours found in our Australian bird life. When you get some of these birds nesting in your back yard, year after year, in nests just a few feet from your back door, it gives us a great deal of pleasure. If they are left alone, they learn to tolerate us, even trust us when we peep into their nest to see the young ones. We repay this trust with clean water to drink and bathe in and a safe environment to bring up the young.