Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

and its offshore islands and territories have 898 recorded

bird Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class (biology), class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the Oviparity, laying of Eggshell, hard-shelled eggs, a high Metabolism, metabolic rate, a fou ...

species as of 2014. Of the recorded birds, 165 are considered

vagrant Vagrancy is the condition of wandering homelessness without regular employment or income. Vagrants usually live in poverty and support themselves by travelling while engaging in begging, scavenging, or petty theft. In Western countries, ...

or accidental visitors, of the remainder over 45% are classified as Australian endemics: found nowhere else on earth. It has been suggested that up to 10% of Australian bird species may go extinct by the year 2100 as a result of climate change. Australian species range from the tiny weebill to the huge, flightless

emu The emu (; ''Dromaius novaehollandiae'') is a species of flightless bird endemism, endemic to Australia, where it is the Tallest extant birds, tallest native bird. It is the only extant taxon, extant member of the genus ''Dromaius'' and the ...

. Many species of Australian birds will immediately seem familiar to visitors from the Northern Hemisphere: Australian

wrens Wrens are a family (biology), family, Troglodytidae, of small brown passerine birds. The family includes 96 species and is divided into 19 genus, genera. All species are restricted to the New World except for the Eurasian wren that is widely di ...

look and act much like northern

wren Wrens are a family, Troglodytidae, of small brown passerine birds. The family includes 96 species and is divided into 19 genera. All species are restricted to the New World except for the Eurasian wren that is widely distributed in the Old Worl ...

s, and Australian robins seem to be close relatives of the northern robins. However, the majority of Australian

passerine A passerine () is any bird of the order Passeriformes (; from Latin 'sparrow' and '-shaped') which includes more than half of all bird species. Sometimes known as perching birds, passerines generally have an anisodactyl arrangement of their ...

s are descended from the ancestors of the

crow A crow is a bird of the genus ''Corvus'', or more broadly, a synonym for all of ''Corvus''. The word "crow" is used as part of the common name of many species. The related term "raven" is not linked scientifically to any certain trait but is rathe ...

family, and the close resemblance is misleading: the cause is not genetic relatedness but

convergent evolution Convergent evolution is the independent evolution of similar features in species of different periods or epochs in time. Convergent evolution creates analogous structures that have similar form or function but were not present in the last comm ...

. For example, almost any land habitat offers a nice home for a small bird that specialises in finding small insects: the form best fitted to that task is one with long legs for agility and obstacle clearance, moderately-sized wings optimised for quick, short flights, and a large, upright tail for rapid changes of direction. In consequence, the unrelated birds that fill that role in the

Americas The Americas, sometimes collectively called America, are a landmass comprising the totality of North America and South America.''Webster's New World College Dictionary'', 2010 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio. When viewed as a sing ...

and in Australia look and act as though they are close relatives. Australian birds which show convergent evolution with Northern Hemisphere species: *

honeyeater The honeyeaters are a large and diverse family, Meliphagidae, of small to medium-sized birds. The family includes the Australian chats, myzomelas, friarbirds, wattlebirds, miners and melidectes. They are most common in Australia and New Gui ...

s (resemble

sunbird Sunbirds and spiderhunters make up the family Nectariniidae of passerine birds. They are small, slender passerines from the Old World, usually with downward-curved bills. Many are brightly coloured, often with iridescent feathers, particularly i ...

s) *

sittella The sittellas are a family, Neosittidae, of small passerine birds found only in Australasia. They resemble nuthatches, but whilst they were considered to be in that family for many years they are now afforded their own family. They do not migrat ...

s (resemble

nuthatch The nuthatches () constitute a genus, ''Sitta'', of small passerine birds belonging to the family Sittidae. Characterised by large heads, short tails, and powerful bills and feet, nuthatches advertise their territory using loud, simple songs. Mo ...

es) * Australasian babblers (resemble scimitar babblers) * Australian robins (resemble Old World chats) * Scrub robins (resemble thrushes)

Kinds of birds

Australian birds can be classified into six categories: * Old endemics: long-established non-

s of ultimately Gondwanan origin, notably

cassowaries Cassowaries (; Biak language, Biak: ''man suar'' ; ; Papuan_languages, Papuan: ''kasu weri'' ) are flightless birds of the genus ''Casuarius'', in the order Casuariiformes. They are classified as ratites, flightless birds without a keel (bird a ...

and the huge parrot group * Corvid radiation:

Passerine A passerine () is any bird of the order Passeriformes (; from Latin 'sparrow' and '-shaped') which includes more than half of all bird species. Sometimes known as perching birds, passerines generally have an anisodactyl arrangement of their ...

s peculiar to

Australasia Australasia is a subregion of Oceania, comprising Australia, New Zealand (overlapping with Polynesia), and sometimes including New Guinea and surrounding islands (overlapping with Melanesia). The term is used in a number of different context ...

, descended from the

crow family Corvidae is a Cosmopolitan distribution, cosmopolitan Family (biology), family of Songbird, oscine passerine birds that contains the crows, ravens, Rook (bird), rooks, magpies, jackdaws, jays, treepies, choughs, and Nutcracker (bird), nutcrackers ...

, and now occupying a vast range of roles and sizes; examples include

, robins, magpies, thornbills, pardalotes, the huge

family,

treecreepers The treecreepers are a family (biology), family, Certhiidae, of small passerine Aves, birds, widespread in wooded regions of the Northern Hemisphere. The family contains nine species in one genus, ''Certhia''. Their plumage is dull-coloured. As t ...

lyrebird A lyrebird is either of two species of ground-dwelling Australian birds that compose the genus ''Menura'', and the family Menuridae. They are most notable for their impressive ability to mimic natural and artificial sounds from their environme ...

birds-of-paradise The birds-of-paradise are members of the family Paradisaeidae of the order Passeriformes. The majority of species are found in eastern Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, and eastern Australia. The family has 45 species in 17 genera. The members of this ...

and

bowerbird Bowerbirds () make up the bird family Ptilonorhynchidae. They are renowned for their unique courtship behaviour, where males build a structure and decorate it with sticks and brightly coloured objects in an attempt to attract a mate. The family ...

s * Eurasian colonists: later colonists from

Eurasia Eurasia ( , ) is a continental area on Earth, comprising all of Europe and Asia. According to some geographers, Physical geography, physiographically, Eurasia is a single supercontinent. The concept of Europe and Asia as distinct continents d ...

, including

plover Plovers ( , ) are members of a widely distributed group of wader, wading birds of subfamily Charadriinae. The term "plover" applies to all the members of the subfamily, though only about half of them include it in their name. Species lis ...

swallows The swallows, martins, and saw-wings, or Hirundinidae are a family of passerine songbirds found around the world on all continents, including occasionally in Antarctica. Highly adapted to aerial feeding, they have a distinctive appearance. The t ...

lark Larks are passerine birds of the family Alaudidae. Larks have a cosmopolitan distribution with the largest number of species occurring in Africa. Only a single species, the horned lark, occurs in North America, and only Horsfield's bush lark occ ...

s, thrushes,

cisticola __NOTOC__ Cisticolas (pronounced ''sis-TIC-olas'') are a genus of very small insectivorous birds formerly classified in the Old World warbler family Sylviidae, but now usually considered to be in the separate family Cisticolidae, along with other ...

s, sunbirds and some raptors * Recent introductions: birds recently introduced by humans; some, such as the

European goldfinch The European goldfinch or simply the goldfinch (''Carduelis carduelis'') is a small passerine bird in the finch Family (biology), family that is native to the Palearctic zone in Europe, northern Africa, and western Asia. It has been introduced t ...

and

greenfinch The greenfinches are small passerine birds in the genus ''Chloris'' in the subfamily Carduelinae within the Fringillidae. The species have a Eurasian distribution except for the European greenfinch, which also occurs in North Africa. These fin ...

, appear to coexist with native fauna; others, such as the

common starling The common starling (''Sturnus vulgaris''), also known simply as the starling in Great Britain and Ireland, and as European starling in North America, is a medium-sized passerine bird in the starling family, Sturnidae. It is about long and ha ...

, blackbird,

house A house is a single-unit residential building. It may range in complexity from a rudimentary hut to a complex structure of wood, masonry, concrete or other material, outfitted with plumbing, electrical, and heating, ventilation, and air c ...

and tree sparrows, and the

common myna The common myna or Indian myna (''Acridotheres tristis''), sometimes spelled mynah, is a bird in the Family (biology), family Sturnidae, native to Asia. An omnivorous open woodland bird with a strong territorial instinct, the common myna has ada ...

, are more destructive * Migratory shorebirds: a suite of

wader 245px, A flock of Red_knot.html" ;"title="Dunlins and Red knot">Dunlins and Red knots Waders or shorebirds are birds of the order Charadriiformes commonly found wikt:wade#Etymology 1, wading along shorelines and mudflats in order to foraging, ...

s in the

Scolopacidae Scolopacidae is a large family of shorebirds, or waders, which mainly includes many species known as sandpipers, but also others such as woodcocks, curlews and snipes. Most of these species eat small invertebrates picked out of the mud or soil ...

and Charadriidae families which breed in northern

Asia Asia ( , ) is the largest continent in the world by both land area and population. It covers an area of more than 44 million square kilometres, about 30% of Earth's total land area and 8% of Earth's total surface area. The continent, which ...

and

Alaska Alaska ( ) is a non-contiguous U.S. state on the northwest extremity of North America. Part of the Western United States region, it is one of the two non-contiguous U.S. states, alongside Hawaii. Alaska is also considered to be the north ...

and spend the non-breeding season in

Seabird Seabirds (also known as marine birds) are birds that are adaptation, adapted to life within the marine ecosystem, marine environment. While seabirds vary greatly in lifestyle, behaviour and physiology, they often exhibit striking convergent ...

s: a large and cosmopolitan group of

petrel Petrels are tube-nosed seabirds in the phylogenetic order Procellariiformes. Description Petrels are a monophyletic group of marine seabirds, sharing a characteristic of a nostril arrangement that results in the name "tubenoses". Petrels enco ...

albatross Albatrosses, of the biological family Diomedeidae, are large seabirds related to the procellariids, storm petrels, and diving petrels in the order Procellariiformes (the tubenoses). They range widely in the Southern Ocean and the North Paci ...

es, sulids,

gull Gulls, or colloquially seagulls, are seabirds of the subfamily Larinae. They are most closely related to terns and skimmers, distantly related to auks, and even more distantly related to waders. Until the 21st century, most gulls were placed ...

tern Terns are seabirds in the family Laridae, subfamily Sterninae, that have a worldwide distribution and are normally found near the sea, rivers, or wetlands. Terns are treated in eleven genera in a subgroup of the family Laridae, which also ...

s and

cormorant Phalacrocoracidae is a family of approximately 40 species of aquatic birds commonly known as cormorants and shags. Several different classifications of the family have been proposed, but in 2021 the International Ornithologists' Union (IOU) ado ...

s, many of which either breed on islands within Australian territory or frequent its coast and

territorial waters Territorial waters are informally an area of water where a sovereign state has jurisdiction, including internal waters, the territorial sea, the contiguous zone, the exclusive economic zone, and potentially the extended continental shelf ( ...

Regional lists

For comprehensive regional lists, see: * List of birds of Australia, covering Australia and its territories * List of birds of Australia, New Zealand and Antarctica, the '' HANZAB'' list for Australia,

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

Antarctica Antarctica () is Earth's southernmost and least-populated continent. Situated almost entirely south of the Antarctic Circle and surrounded by the Southern Ocean (also known as the Antarctic Ocean), it contains the geographic South Pole. ...

and the surrounding ocean and

subantarctic The sub-Antarctic zone is a physiographic region in the Southern Hemisphere, located immediately north of the Antarctic region. This translates roughly to a latitude of between 46th parallel south, 46° and 60th parallel south, 60° south of t ...

islands. For Australia's endemic species, see: * List of endemic birds of Australia Other regional, state and island bird lists: * Victoria * New South Wales & Lord Howe Island *

Queensland Queensland ( , commonly abbreviated as Qld) is a States and territories of Australia, state in northeastern Australia, and is the second-largest and third-most populous state in Australia. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Austr ...

Western Australia Western Australia (WA) is the westernmost state of Australia. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east, and South Australia to the south-east. Western Aust ...

Tasmania Tasmania (; palawa kani: ''Lutruwita'') is an island States and territories of Australia, state of Australia. It is located to the south of the Mainland Australia, Australian mainland, and is separated from it by the Bass Strait. The sta ...

Northern Territory
*

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a States and territories of Australia, state in the southern central part of Australia. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories by area, which in ...

* Ashmore Reef * Boigu, Saibai and Dauan Islands *

Christmas Island Christmas Island, officially the Territory of Christmas Island, is an States and territories of Australia#External territories, Australian external territory in the Indian Ocean comprising the island of the same name. It is about south o ...

Cocos (Keeling) Islands The Cocos (Keeling) Islands (), officially the Territory of Cocos (Keeling) Islands (; ), are an Australian external territory in the Indian Ocean, comprising a small archipelago approximately midway between Australia and Sri Lanka and rel ...

Heard Island The Territory of Heard Island and McDonald Islands (HIMI) is an Australian external territory comprising a volcanic group of mostly barren Antarctic islands, about two-thirds of the way from Madagascar to Antarctica. The group's overall land ...

Kangaroo Island Kangaroo Island (, ) is Australia's third-largest island, after Tasmania and Melville Island, Northern Territory, Melville Island. It lies in the state of South Australia, southwest of Adelaide. Its closest point to the mainland is Snapper Poi ...

Macquarie Island Macquarie Island is a subantarctic island in the south-western Pacific Ocean, about halfway between New Zealand and Antarctica. It has been governed as a part of Tasmania, Australia, since 1880. It became a Protected areas of Tasmania, Tasmania ...

Houtman Abrolhos The Houtman Abrolhos (often called the Abrolhos Islands) is a chain of 122 islands and associated coral reefs in the Indian Ocean off the west coast of Australia about west of Geraldton, Western Australia. It is the southernmost true coral r ...

Organizations

National organizations *

BirdLife Australia BirdLife Australia is a not-for-profit organisation advocating for native birds and the conservation of their habitats across Australia. BirdLife Australia is the trading name of the company limited by guarantee formed through the merger of tw ...

(previously known as Birds Australia) is the leading Australian NGO for birds, birding,

ornithology Ornithology, from Ancient Greek ὄρνις (''órnis''), meaning "bird", and -logy from λόγος (''lógos''), meaning "study", is a branch of zoology dedicated to the study of birds. Several aspects of ornithology differ from related discip ...

and conservation, formed by a merger of the Royal Australasian Ornithologists Union and Bird Observation & Conservation Australia * Australian Bird Study Association, for banders and other field ornithologists
Birding-Aus
- an Internet mailing list about Australian birds Australian regional and state organisations * Australian Capital Territory *
Birds Australia Southern NSW & ACT
** Canberra Ornithologists Group * New South Wales ** NSW Bird Atlassers Inc. ** Birding NSW ** Birds Australia Northern NSW *
Birds Australia Southern NSW & ACT
*
Cumberland Bird Observers Club
*
Blue Mountains Bird Observers Inc.
* Queensland *
Birds Australia Capricornia
*
Birds Australia North Queensland
*
Birds Australia Southern Queensland
** Birds Queensland * South Australia ** Birds SA * Tasmania ** Birds Tasmania * Victoria ** Birds Australia - Victoria * Western Australia ** Birds Australia Western Australia

Regional references and guides

Important regional references include: *
Australia Birds
', a portable folding guide authored by zoologist James Kavanagh, features 140 of the most familiar species. Part of a four title series on Australia flora & fauna featuring ecoregions and major bird spotting sites around the country. *

', authored by Tim Dolby and Rohan Clarke (2014), features the best places in Australia for finding birds. * ''The Handbook of Australian, New Zealand and Antarctic Birds'' ('' HANZAB''), the pre-eminent scientific reference, in seven volumes. * '' The New Atlas of Australian Birds'', an extensive detailed survey of Australian bird distributions. *
The Action Plan for Australian Birds 2000
', Garnett, Stephen T.; & Crowley, Gabriel M., Environment Australia, Canberra, 2000 , a comprehensive survey of the conservation status of Australian species, with costed conservation and recovery strategies. * ''

Reader's Digest Complete Book of Australian Birds The ''Reader's Digest Complete Book of Australian Birds'' is a book first published by Reader's Digest Services Pty Ltd of Sydney, Australia in 1976 and reprinted several times, with a completely revised edition issued in 1986. Description The b ...

'' was once the standard general reference, but is now somewhat dated. The second edition (1986) remains in print. *
Where to See Birds in Victoria
', edited by Tim Dolby (2009), features places in Victoria for seeing birds. Full-coverage field guides in print are as follows, in rough order of authority: * Pizzey: '' Field Guide to the Birds of Australia'', Pizzey, G, Knight, F and Menkhorst, P (ed), 7th edition, 2003 * Slater: '' The Slater Field Guide to Australian Birds'', Slater P, Slater P and Slater R, 2009 revised edition * Simpson and Day: '' Field Guide to the Birds of Australia'', Simpson K and Day N, 8th edition, 2010; * Morcombe: ''Field Guide to Australian Birds'', Morcombe, M, 2nd edition 2003, and complete compact edition 2004 * Flegg: ''Photographic Field Guide: Birds of Australia'', Flegg, J, 2nd edition, 2002 * Trounson: ''Australian Birds: A Concise Photographic Field Guide'', Trounson D and Trounson M, 2005 reprint * Cayley: '' What Bird is That?'', Cayley, N, 2000 edition

Parasites

The country does not suffer from several

Apicomplexa The Apicomplexa (also called Apicomplexia; single: apicomplexan) are organisms of a large phylum of mainly parasitic alveolates. Most possess a unique form of organelle structure that comprises a type of non-photosynthetic plastid called an ap ...

n parasites found throughout the rest of the world. . . Several species of both avian '' haemoproteids'' and avian ''

Plasmodium ''Plasmodium'' is a genus of unicellular eukaryotes that are obligate parasites of vertebrates and insects. The life cycles of ''Plasmodium'' species involve development in a Hematophagy, blood-feeding insect host (biology), host which then inj ...

'' spp. are absent here.

Gallery

image:EagleWedgetail2.jpg,

Wedgetail eagle The wedge-tailed eagle (''Aquila audax'') also known as the eaglehawk, is the largest bird of prey in the continent of Australia. It is also found in southern New Guinea to the north and is distributed as far south as the state of Tasmania. A ...

image:Forest Kingfisher2.jpg, Forest kingfisher image:Laughing Kookaburra2.jpg,

Kookaburra Kookaburras (pronounced ) are terrestrial animal, terrestrial tree kingfishers of the genus ''Dacelo'' native to Australia and New Guinea, which grow to between in length and weigh around . The name is a loanword from Wiradjuri language, Wira ...

image:Barking Owl.jpg, Barking owl image:Duck, Plumed Whistling Sep 09.jpg, Plumed whistling duck image:White-faced-Heron444.jpg, White-faced heron image:Magpie_samcem05.jpg,

Australian magpie The Australian magpie (''Gymnorhina tibicen'') is a black and white passerine bird native to Australia and southern New Guinea, and introduced to New Zealand, and the Fijian island of Taveuni. Although once considered to be three separate ...

image:Rainbow Bee-eaters Juffs.JPG, Rainbow bee-eater image:Apostlebird 442.jpg,

Apostlebird The apostlebird (''Struthidea cinerea''), also known as the grey jumper, lousy jack or happy family, is a quick-moving, gray or black bird about 33 cm (13 in) long. It is a native to Australia where it roams woodlands, eating insects an ...

image:Turkey, Brush2 Nov 09.JPG, Australian brush turkey image:Alisterus scapularis -Brisbane-6.jpg, Australian king parrot image:Milvus migrans front(ThKraft).jpg, Black kite image:Red-flush Cattle Egret.jpg,

Cattle egret The cattle egret (formerly genus ''Bubulcus'') is a cosmopolitan distribution, cosmopolitan clade of heron (family (biology), family Ardeidae) in the genus ''Ardea (genus), Ardea'' found in the tropics, subtropics, and warm-temperate zones. Ac ...

File:Eopsaltria australis - Mogo Campground.jpg, Eastern yellow robin image:Noisy Friarbird dec07.jpg,

Noisy friarbird The noisy friarbird (''Philemon corniculatus'') is a passerine bird of the honeyeater family Meliphagidae native to southern New Guinea and eastern Australia. It is one of several species known as friarbirds whose heads are bare of feathers. It ...

image:Mistletoebird wynn05.jpg, Mistletoebird File:Superb Lyrebird mound dance.jpg,

Superb lyrebird The superb lyrebird (''Menura novaehollandiae'') is an Australian passerine songbird, one of two species from the family Menuridae, with the other being the much rarer Albert's lyrebird. It is one of the world's largest songbirds, and is re ...

File:Podargus strigoides Bonorong.jpg,

Tawny frogmouth The tawny frogmouth (''Podargus strigoides'') is a species of frogmouth native to the Australian mainland and Tasmania and found throughout. It is a big-headed, stocky bird often mistaken for an owl due to its nocturnal habits and similar colouri ...

References

External links

*
Australian raptors

Fully digitised edition
of '' The Birds of Australia'' in seven volumes by John Gould *
Action Plan for Australian Birds 2000
' - PDF download * {{cite web, title=Australasian Bird Image Database (ABID), url=http://www.aviceda.org/abid/newimages.php, access-date=2008-03-09, archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080228032708/http://www.aviceda.org/abid/newimages.php, archive-date=2008-02-28, url-status=dead *
Where to See Birds in Victoria
' edited by Tim Dolby
Yellow bellied sunbird videoBirds of Australia: treasures from the collection

State Library of Queensland State Library of Queensland (State Library) is the state public reference and research library of Queensland, Australia, operated by the Government of Queensland, state government. The Library is governed by the Library Board of Queensland, whi ...