Water Birds
|
|
Cormorants
|
Black-faced Cormorant
(Phalacrocorax fuscescens)
2 images |
|
|
The Black-faced Cormorant is a large cormorant with black upper parts, a bare black face, and white under parts. The legs and feet are black and there is a black mark on the thigh. The bill is dark grey, and the eyes are blue-green. After diving... Read more >
|
Great Cormorant
(Phalacrocorax carbo)
2 images |
|
|
The Great Cormorant is mainly black except for some white and yellow on the face. There is a small white patch on each thigh during summer. The bill is grey and the legs and feet are black. Juveniles are similar to adults but are dark brown. Read more >
|
Little Black Cormorant
(Phalacrocorax sulcirostris)
2 images |
|
|
The Little Black Cormorant is a black cormorant with a greenish sheen to the back and a slender grey hooked bill. Read more >
|
Little Pied Cormorant
(Phalacrocorax melanoleucos)
3 images |
|
|
The Little Pied Cormorant is black above and white below. The face is dusky and, in adult birds, the white of the underside extends to above the eye. Immature birds resemble the adults except there is no white above the eye. Read more >
|
|
Darters
|
Darter
(Anhinga melanogaster)
2 images |
|
|
The Darter is a large slender water bird with a long snake-like neck and sharp pointed bill. Male Darters are dark brownish black with chestnut brown under parts. The wings are glossy black on top, streaked and spotted white and silver. There is a... Read more >
|
|
Egrets, Herons, Bitterns
|
Cattle Egret
(Ardea ibis)
2 images |
|
|
The Cattle Egret is a small white egret. In breeding season has tan head, neck and breast. Read more >
|
Great Egret
(Ardea alba)
3 images |
|
|
The Great Egret is a large white water bird with yellow bill. The neck is about one and a half times as long as the body. It has dark grey or black legs. The bill becomes very dark almost black in the breeding season, and the skin on face becomes... Read more >
|
Pacific Heron
(Ardea pacifica)
1 image |
|
|
The Pacific Heron has a white head and neck and dark grey body and wings, with black bill and black legs. No other Australian heron has these colours. The breeding plumage has maroon coloured plumes on the back and wings. Immatures are buff white... Read more >
|
Pied Heron
(Ardea picata)
2 images |
|
|
The Pied Heron is grey with a yellow bill and legs. The top of the head and crest is black and face and neck are white. Immatures are brown or grey above with no crest and have white head, neck and underside. Read more >
|
Striated Heron
(Butorides striatus)
1 image |
|
|
The Striated Heron is a squat heron with large head and small drooping crest. The back and wings are green grey, with wing feathers outlined with yellow The neck is streaked down the centre with black, dark brown and white The underside is pinkish... Read more >
|
Intermediate Egret
(Egretta intermedia)
2 images |
|
|
The Intermediate Egret is a medium sized white egret. It looks similar to the Great Egret, but is smaller, has a more rounded head and the orange bill is shorter and not so acute angled. The neck is about the same length as the body. In breeding... Read more >
|
Little Egret
(Egretta garzetta)
2 images |
|
|
The Little Egret is a small white egret with grey-black legs, black bill and a bright yellow naked face. In the breeding season has two long head plumes, Read more >
|
Reef Heron
(Egretta sacra)
3 images |
|
|
The Reef Heron has two colour variations. Some birds have white plumage and others are charcoal-grey. They all have yellow legs and brown beaks. Read more >
|
White-faced Heron
(Egretta novaehollandiae)
3 images |
|
|
The White-faced Heron is light blue-grey in colour, with a white face. It is a common suburban bird in some areas where it feeds on frogs, insects and sometimes fish from goldfish ponds. Read more >
|
Nankeen Night-heron
(Nycticorax caledonicus)
2 images |
|
|
The Nankeen Night-heron is a compact heron with large head and stooped posture. The crown and back of neck is black. The back is rufous red and underside is creamy white with buff tinge. During breeding the head has two or three long slender plumes.... Read more >
|
|
Grebes
|
Hoary-headed Grebe
(Podiceps poliocephalus)
1 image |
|
|
The Hoary-headed Grebe is a fairly small dark grey and white grebe. It has a brown eye and a black patch under the chin, and a narrow black streak down the back of the neck During the breeding season adult plumage has white streaks over the entire... Read more >
|
Australasian Grebe
(Tachybaptus novaehollandiae)
2 images |
|
|
The non-breeding plumage of both the male and female Australasian Grebe is dark grey-brown above and mostly silver-grey below, with a white oval patch of bare skin at the base of the bill. During the breeding season, both sexes have a glossy-black... Read more >
|
|
Ibises, Spoonbills
|
Royal Spoonbill
(Platalea regia)
2 images |
|
|
The Royal Spoonbill is a large white water bird with black spoon-shaped bill Read more >
|
Yellow-billed Spoonbill
(Platalea flavipes)
2 images |
|
|
The Yellow-billed Spoonbill is a large, white waterbird with a yellow face and spoon-shaped bill. The legs and feet are yellow. Breeding plumage has long wing plumes tipped with black and long breast feathers (hackles). The facial skin is edged with... Read more >
|
Glossy Ibis
(Plegadis falcinellus)
1 image |
|
|
The Glossy Ibis is a small dark coloured ibis. The neck is dark reddish brown and the body is dark brown with a metallic sheen on the wings. The long curved bill is olive brown, and the legs and feet are brown. It has a white line around the eyes. Read more >
|
Australian White Ibis
(Threskiornis molucca)
3 images |
|
|
The Australian White Ibis is mostly white except for a bare black head. Read more >
|
Straw-necked Ibis
(Threskiornis spinicollis)
3 images |
|
|
The Straw-necked Ibis is a large water bird with a naked black head, long curved black bill and yellow throat plumes. Read more >
|
|
Jacanas
|
Comb-crested Jacana
(Irediparra gallinacea)
2 images |
|
|
The Comb-crested Jacana or Lotusbird is a waterbird with long legs and extremely long toes that enable it to walk on the leaves of floating plants. It is brown above with white face and front of neck. The back of the neck is black extending into a... Read more >
|
|
Pelicans
|
Australian Pelican
(Pelecanus conspicillatus)
7 images |
|
|
The Australian Pelican is an unmistakable large black and white bird. The Pelican's bill is 40 cm - 50 cm long and is larger in males than females. Read more >
|
|
Storks
|
Jabiru
(Jabiru asiaticus)
2 images |
|
|
The Jabiru, or Black-necked Stork, is the only stork found in Australia. It is a tall bird with a black and white body, dark green and purple neck and large black bill. The legs are long and coral-red in colour. The male has black eyes and the... Read more >
|
|
|
