Grallina cyanoleuca

These medium sized black and white birds were hanging about in the trees out the back, it’s yet another species that I couldn’t identify! By the time I got the camera they were gone. Luckily they returned the next day, this time I was ready. I’ve mentioned the method I use to identify birds and other plants and animals before but wanted to say it again as I find it really effective. First try to take a photo to closely study the features of the animal, then go to Google image search and type in a visual description with a location. When an image matches check it out, all you need is a name then you’re set. This is how I identified the Peewee. “black and white bird australia” brought up exactly what I’d seen. The Peewee is also commonly known as the Magpie-lark,  there were a few sites saying it’s called the Peewee in New South Wales ( where I am ) so I’ll call it that. I also think it’s a better sounding name. The Peewee is a common bird found throughout Australia except Tasmania and central Western Australia. It’s black and white markings mimic that of a true Magpie, which it sometimes uses to advantage by infiltrating magpie flocks for the protection of the larger birds. Peewees build their nests out if mud and line them with feathers and grass. Peewees can be aggressive and territorial and are known to swoop and attack people that get to close to their nests. Males have white markings on their cheeks and eyebrows, females have white on their forehead chin and throat.

Zosterops lateralis Another common bird that I’ve only recently identified in the backyard. The Silvereye gets it’s name from the distinct patch of white around it’s eyes. It’s a small bird, only 11cm – 13cm in length, it moves about quickly making it hard to spot and identify. Silvereye live on the coast and adjacent inland areas of almost all of the country, they’re also found throughout New Zealand and southwest Pacific islands including Lord Howe, Fiji and Vanuatu.

Phylidonyris novaehollandiae Another ( former ) unknown bird in the yard. It’s a New Holland honeyeater, a not uncommon bird that’s distribution stretches from the southern Queensland coast, all the way down the east coast, throughout Tasmania, then westwards following the mainland coast wrapping up a few hundred km north of Perth. They’re small birds reaching a maximum size of 20cm. This one was hard to photograph, it kept moving about, not staying still for long at all.

I’ve done a previous post on the Eastern Spinebill , I just wanted to share a new photo, this time of a male. As often seems to be the case in nature the male is more striking than the female, I guess they need to impress, and it’s not like they can buy a fancy car.

Male Eastern Spinebill – what a hansom devil

Alisterus scapularis

The King Parrot is another common bird in the the area that I was oblivious to until recently. It was my next door neighbor that pointed them out to me. I reckon the name suits, they are a medium to large bird, 43cm in length, males have a striking red colouring  over their head, breast and underside and have deep green wings. Females are the same size with similar colouring but with green heads. King Parrots are frequent visitors to our yard, I had one land on my hand to eat some birdseed last week.

Calyptorhynchus funereus

I used to think that a black cockie was a black cockie, it turns out that the name is a general descriptive term for several species of cockatoos with black colouring. The cockies that visit my yard are Yellow tailed black cockatoos. For the last few years they’ve been turning up for just 1 day, chowing down on Banksia flowers, gnawing off many small branches, and then flying out not to be seen for another year. Yellow tailed black cockatoos are big, noticeably bigger than the Sulphur-crested Cockatoos that are here year round. They have black feathers all over with a yellow patch on the cheek and the tail.

Neochmia temporalis

The Red-browed Finch is a spot on name for these guys, the other thing to add is they are small and they are fast! Red-browed finches enjoy hanging out in the garden near to the ground where there’s good cover from scrub and small trees. I’ve not seen them flying in the sky or anywhere in the open where there’s no cover. There’s a prunus tree in the backyard that they build a nest or 3 every year. Their nests are made from twigs, tightly woven into an enclosed ball shape with one small doorway. Red-browed Finches are a common bird that are found up the entire east coast of Australia. They are found in grassy areas interspersed with dense understorey vegetation, often along creek lines.

Acanthorhynchus tenuirostris

I’m pretty sure this is an Eastern Spinebill, it was sitting in the Macadamia tree in the front yard. I’d not head of this bird before and can’t say I remember ever seeing them around. The Eastern Spinebill is a small bird, about 13cm – 16cm, it can be recognized by it’s long fine down curved beak. The bird in the photo is a female, males have more distinctive and defined colourings of black, white and tan across their body. They are found on much of the east and southeast coast of Australia and also throughout Tasmania.

Anthochaera chrysoptera

You would think the Little Wattle Bird’s name comes from the abundant collection of wattle trees in it’s habitat. But I’m pretty sure it comes from it’s cousin species, the red and yellow Wattle birds. The Red Wattle Bird and Yellow Wattle Bird have prominent coloured wattles on their cheeks. The Little Wattle bird doesn’t have wattles itself, but the name remains. Little Wattle birds are common in the back yard, they’re often seen eating the nectar from banksia flowers. I’ve not seen them on the bird feeder before, I guess they’re not fans of the native bird seed mix .