The spotted pardalote is a lovely, tiny bird that is heard much more often than it is seen. Its call is two, (most commonly) three, or four "pip pip pip" sounds in quick sucession. It...
The Brown Thornbill is a very common bird in the Blue Mountains of NSW. They almost always appear in flocks of several birds up to dozens of them. They are hard to get good...
The Red-browed Firetail (or Red-browed Finch) is a common bird in the Blue Mountains. They are small and can be found either on the ground or in trees, usually a few together at a time....
Silvereyes are usually seen in numbers of at least 10 birds and sometimes a lot more. Like most small birds they do not stay in the one place very long. They are lovely birds and...
The White-browed Scrubwren is almost always found on the ground. It can be quite friendly and not concerned about coming close to people, although I haven't managed to take a clear photograph of one yet.
...
The Superb Fairy-wren is a lovely bird (there is another species that is actually called the Lovely Fairy-wren, but it is only found in far North QLD). It is often seen in gardens and...
The Gouldian Finch is one of the most brightly coloured birds in the world. Some have black faces, and some (like the one pictured here) have red faces.
The Gouldian...
If you have ever seen a White-throated Treecreeper you will know instantly why it is called a "treecreeper". It literally creeps up tree trunks, looking for insects and grubs to eat. When it nears...
The Eastern Spinebill is an extremely common bird in gardens in the Blue Mountains. It has a distinctive call which sounds a bit like "sawing" (it makes sense when you hear it), and a more...
The introduced House Sparrow is most often seen in busy urban places, especially like outdoor malls and railway stations.
You can download House Sparrow and Red Kangaroo...
The Eastern Yellow Robin is a lovely, friendly bird. They are curious and inquisitive. Several times I have almost (but not quite) had one fly close enough to land on me. Since they are...
The Rufous Whistler is a lovely bird, the male has striking colours, with a thick black stripe arouns his head, and a pure white throat underneath. The belly of the bird is a rufous...
The male Golden Whistler is a spectacular small bird, he has striking colours with a thick black stripe around his head, and a pure white throat underneath. The belly of the bird is a bright...
The New Holland Honeyeater is a common bird in the Blue Mountains, especially the Upper Blue Mountains. They are small and distinctive in appearance, and often seen in gardens where there are some native nectar-bearing...
The bell miner, or bellbird, is most well know for its chiming bell-like call. They are much more often heard than they are seen, since the call is loud and the bird looks a drab...
A well known bird, the Willie Wagtail is well dressed in black and white and tails. It shakes its tail from side to side and sings a song that is meant to sound like...
Although the Red-whiskered Bulbul is introduced, it seems like a "nice" bird, unlike many of the other introduced birds such as the Feral Pigeon, the Common Myna and others.
They...
A beautiful bird, shaped similar to the Laughing Kookaburra but smaller, more brightly coloured, and not nearly as often seen....
The Grey Shrike-thrush is best known for its lovely song. Birdwatchers call this bird the "GST"....
The Common Myna (usually called the Indian Myna) is a well known introduced bird of urban and settled areas. Some peope say it is regarded as Australia's number one feral enemy (which is a...
They are very shy and will fly away at the slightest provacation. They make noises that sound like a cross between "ping ping ping" and "chip chip chip", often the first birds I hear...
The noisy miner is a very common bird in much of the parts of Australia where it is found. It is a native to Australia unlike the common or "Indian" myna. It is...
The name magpie-lark is used in the bird books but everyone in real life calls this bird the peewee. They are in a different family to magpies, currawongs, and butcherbirds, though I...
The grey butcherbird is a small bird in the same family as magpies and currawongs. It has a lovely song, which is its most distinctive feature. It is often heard in the...
The Rainbow Lorikeet is known for its bright colours and friendly outgoing, social behaviour. Some places have gatherings of hundreds or even thousands of them which can get extremely loud....
The Eastern Whipbird is famous for its call which sounds like the crack of a whip. The call is actually made by two birds, the male makes the whipcrack, and if the female replies it...
The Southern Boobook Owl is the most commonly seen and heard owl in many parts of Australia, including Sydney and the Blue Mountains....
The Little Wattlebird is common in parts of Sydney and many other areas. It is found in the Lower Blue Mountains but not in the Upper Blue Mountains (the Red Wattlebird is found in the...
The Spotted Turtle-Dove is a kind of pigeon, however not as "gross" as the common Feral Pigeon. It has an easily recognisable "coo coooo", or "coo cooooo coo" kind of call which (like most...
The Rock Dove (otherwise known as the Feral Pigeon) is a very common bird, known to pretty much everyone....
The Crested Pigeon is often seen in the lower Blue Mountains, and in much of Sydney. It is a native pigeon, unlike the common feral pigeon (also called the Rock Dove) which...
Whenever I see a Black-faced Cuckoo-shrike it is usually either raining, cloudy, or looks like it might rain. They are almost always seen high up in trees, not on the ground. They have...
The Gang-gang Cockatoo used to be common in the Blue Mountains, but now they are rarely seen. I can remember when I was in primary school, every year several of them would eat berries...
There are two races of the Masked Lapwing, the race found in the Southeast of Australia is called "Race novaehollandiae" and is also known as the "Spurwing Plover", which is shown in the picture below....
The Red Wattlebird is common in parts of Sydney and many other areas. It is found in the Blue Mountains and is extremely common in the Upper Blue Mountains. It looks a lot like Little...
The Crimson Rosella is a very common bird in the Blue Mountains. The caged photo was taken when I did WIRES (animal rescue)....
The Eurasian Coot is a bit like a duck as it is usually seen on water (and basically always either on or near water). It has a white beak and forehead, and red eye, which...
The Wonga Pigeon is known for its "woop, woop, woop, woop, woop..." call, which can go for hours, almost without a break. In older times it was known for being good eating, and is...
The Barking Owl has an unusual call that sounds like a barking dog....
The long-billed corella is seen out to about Penrith, but not often in the Blue Mountains....
The Australian Magpie is one of the most famous Australian birds. It is commonly seen in grassy open areas such as parks and sporting fields. It has a red eye. It is a distinctive looking...
The Silver Gull is a very well known bird and is commonly called the Seagull (or perhaps Sea Gull). It is not found that much in the Blue Mountains but it is very common in...
The Australian King-Parrot is a fairly common bird in some parts of the Blue Mountains, but not seen nearly as often as the Crimson Rosella. They are larger than rosellas and the sexes...
The masked owl is a lovely bird that is rarely seen....
The Tawny Frogmouth is around a lot but not that often seen. It is noctural and sleeps in the day, with its body extended to look like a log. Its position, stillness and colouring...
Very similar to the Laughing Kookaburra in appearance, but with blue wings, a pink bill and a darker blue tail.
It does not live in Sydney or the Blue...
The Peregrine Falcon is the fastest bird in the world, and has been recorded in dives at 389 kilometres per hour (240 miles per hour)....
One of the most famous of all Australian birds. Very young kookaburras sound like what a baby dragon might sound like, and not like an adult kookaburra. As they grow older, their sound becomes...
The Pied Currawong is one of the most commonly seen and heard birds in the areas where it lives. It is sometimes mistaken for the Australian Magpie, which is closely related (it is in...
A very common water bird. The male has a "mane" on the top of his head, hence its other name, the "Maned Duck"....
A very common water bird....
The Sulphur-crested Cockatoo is a well known Australian bird with a loud, raucous call. They sometimes damage wooden parts of houses with their powerful beaks....
The Little Pied Cormorant is not really that little, but it is smaller than the other cormorants including the Little Black Cormorant. ...
The Channel-billed Cuckoo is Australia's largest cuckoo. Like all Australian cuckoos (except for the Pheasant Coucal) it is a nest parasite. That is, it lays its eggs in the nests of other species of...
A common bird in the Blue Mountains, particularly in the upper mountains. It has a yellow patch on the side of its head, and yellow under the tail. The Red-Tailed Black-Cockatoo is not generally...
The Little Black Cormorant is not really that little, but it is smaller than the great cormorant which looks almost the same except for white patches on its cheek and the side of its...
Not generally seen in the Blue Mountains or Sydney, though I have seen two of them once in the Kuring-Gai Chase National Park in Northern Sydney.
It...
The Powerful Owl is Australia's largest owl. Their sound is a fairly slow, haunting, "wooooooow, woooow", usually two "woooow's" but occasionally one....
The White-Bellied Sea-Eagle is Australia's second largest bird of prey after the Wedge-Tailed Eagle. It is the mascot of the National Rugby League (NRL) team the Manly Warringah Sea Eagles....
The Superb Lyrebird is famous for its ability to mimic a huge variety of other Australian birds. It appears on the Australian 10 cent coin.
Usually lyrebirds are quite shy, however this one allowed me to...
The Wedge-tailed Eagle is Australia's largest bird of prey. ...
The Black Necked Stork, which used to be called the Jabiru and is still called that name by many people, is a striking bird. It can stand taller than a man and can fly well...