Bird Watching at Millamolong
There are opportunities for visitors to Millamolong to observe an interesting selection of beautiful birds in their natural habitat. It may be possible to provide guests with binoculars if you do not have your own. Some members of staff are knowledgeable and will be able to direct you to the best places to see the following birds.
LAUGHING KOOKABURRA (Dacelo Novaeguineae) 40-47cm
This bird has a massive deep bill with a pale underside. It has a brown back with feathers pale edged. There are white margins on its back which are more evident on juveniles. It has a dark nape crescent which joins its eye streaks. The tips of its wing coverts are very pale blue or almost white. The flight feathers are grey/brown. Its feet are relatively small and weak. It is a terrestrial hunter that perches patiently gliding down to ground to take small, but occasionally quite large snakes, lizards, mice and other small mammals. It also eats large insects, small birds and their nestlings. The voice of the kookaburra is far more pleasant, jovial "laughter" than that of the blue-winged merry chuckling rising to raucous laughter and then fading away to a slow throaty chuckle. Other birds often join in. This is a familiar sound to all Australians. The Kookaburra can be found in open forest woodlands farmlands and watercourse trees of semi-arid inland areas.
KING PARROT (Alisterus Scapularis) 42-44cm
This bird is a large brilliantly plumaged parrot. A large flock of these birds winging their way between the trees brings fleeting spectacular splashes of colour. The head of the parrot and body is brilliant scarlet. It has an emerald viridian back and wings with pale turquoise band. Its lower back to tail coverts are deep blue. It has a long black tail with green or blue sheen. This parrot can be found in wooded areas including rain-forests, Eucalypt trees, and river edge forests. The sound of this parrot is abrupt sharp and clear. The Krassiek K-wiek with slight variations also a rapid chrak chrak chrak. The alarm call is a harsh metallic screeched Karrark.
SUPERB PARROT (Polytelis swainsonii) 37-42cm
This parrot is a swift long-tailed slender green and gold parrot. It is usually seen in small parties or flocks. The male has a bright yellow crown to his throat. He has a scarlet crescent at the top of his chest. The tail feathers have rose pink edges. The male has a black undertail. When the bird flies it does so swiftly, directly and with wings backswept. It has varied calls. Commonly it is a strong penetrating rather rough yet musical "querrieek". It lives by river red gums, box, river edged forest
TURQUOISE PARROT (Neophema Pulchella) 19-21cm
This parrot has a blue turquoise face. It flies up from the ground with outspread wings displaying extensive red blue and green areas on its inner wings with outspread tail which has blue edges and yellow tips. It has a red band across its inner wing coverts. Its flight is generally swift and erratic with brief glides on down curved wings. Its tail is spread on take off and landing displaying much yellow. The voice of the Turquoise parrot is high weak and has a musical tinkling sound. It lives in woodland, open grassland and natural or partly cleared areas.
RED-RUMPED PARROT (Psephotus Hematonotus) 26-28cm
The red-rumped parrot often feeds on the ground in busy flocks. It has a swift slightly undulating flight. It often travels high in the sky. Its head is emerald green. It has a dark bill. Its back is a dull blue/green or olive brown. The red of the rump patch is displayed between the blues of wings as the bird flies up from the ground. Its underside is yellow with white undertail coverts. It has a small yellow patch on its shoulder with outer feathers deep blue. Secondary feathers are blue and the coverts turquoise. Lateral feathers are blue/green tipped with white. The voice of this parrot is sharp metallic scratchy and abrupt. It can be found in open grassy and lightly timbered plains, water courses and farmlands.
CRIMSON ROSELLA (Platycercus Elegans Elegans) 32-37cm
This bird has simple bold plumage. Overall it is deep crimson with dark blue on cheeks wings and tail. Tail feathers are blue often with a greenish or brown tone. It dives away through the narrow spaces of dense forests turning and twisting skilfully between trunks limbs and foliage of the trees. Its voice is clear and ringing " Kteetip" the central "tee" high and penetrating. It is more musical than squeaky and has variations. The Rosella can be found in rain forests, amongst tall dense eucalypt forests, water courses and farmlands.
EASTERN ROSELLA (Platycercus Eximius) 29-33cm
This bird has a scarlet head and chest with white cheeks. The nape of its neck is patchy yellow. Its upper plumage is black edged with light green or yellow creating a boldly scalloped pattern. The under side behind the legs is scarlet and its rump is a light bright green. Its tail is relatively broad but not extremely long. Its voice in flight is a brisk sharp clear rapid 'quink, quink,, quink, quink and even more 'whit whit whit whit'.
Its habitat is woodlands but mainly grassy ground cover. Water course trees and farm lands and crop lands.
RED-BROWED FINCH (Leochmia Temporalis) 11-12cm
The female finch has a red eyebrow line. It tapers to a long fine point at the nape unlike the male which has a broad square-cut brow. Its back is olive yellow/grey. The upper rump and tail coverts are scarlet. Its tail is grey/brown and its underparts white/grey. This highly sociable bird may be seen in close-knit flocks foraging on the ground. They occcaisionally perch on grass stems to reach seed heads. When flushed out the bird departs with slightly undulating flight. The voice of this bird is high almost inaudible. Its drawn-out squeak changes when alarmed to a more abrupt "tchip". Its habitat is undergrowth of forests, grassy clearings and heaths.
DOUBLE-BARRED FINCH (Taeniopygia Bichenovii) 10-11cm
This is an owl-faced finch. Its white face is encircled by a dark rim that continues across the throat as the upper of the diagnostic twin bars. Its face and underparts are white other than these two black bands. Its bill is always blue/grey. The wings are black with white spots heaviest on the coverts. The voice of this finch is a brassy drawn out "tzeeaat tzeeaat" which is like the Zebra finch but each call is longer and more plaintive. It can be found in dry grassy woodlands, dry scrublands and farmland. It is never far from water.
ZEBRA FINCH (Taeniopygia Guttata) 10cm
Australia has 18 native species of grass finch. The Zebra finch is the most widespread. It has an orange red bill. Its crown is blue/grey. It has an orange ear patch and black and white facial streaks. The flanks are orange/chestnut spotted with white. It has a white rump and has a heavily barred tail which can be seen as it flies up and away. It can be seen in pairs, small parties and huge flocks especially when coming to water. It is noisy with bouncy undulating flight. It forages on the ground seeking fallen seeds rather than pulling down and stripping seeds from the stalks. It occasionally takes flying insects especially when feeding nestlings. The voice is loud, nasal and brassy twanging. It lives in dry inland regions. In spinifex and other semi-arid scrubland, grassland and cleared land but never very far from water.
DIAMOND FIRETAIL (Stagonopleura Guttata) 12-13cm
This bird is usually found in flocks of 20 -30 birds nesting in loosely scattered colonies in Autumn larger flocks may form. It feeds exclusively on the ground. Black lores are conspicuous against the pale head. These link the crimson pink of the bill to the same colours in the eye and its encircling eye-ring. Its throat is clear white. It has a black breast band which extends along its flanks. This displays neat sharply defined diamond spots of white. It is white from mid-breast to underneath its tail. Its rump and tail coverts are crimson. The usual call of this bird is plaintive and drawn out. The female call is slightly higher pitch. It lives on grassy ground cover underneath open forest, scrubland, timber belts, along water courses and roadsides.
WHITE-BACKED MAGPIE (Gymnorhina Leuconota) 37-44cm
The Australian magpie is one of their best known birds. It is common in natural bush lands and country towns. The Australian Magpie is a large butcherbird. It has pied plumage and black tipped bill. Males of the Leuconota have an all white back and a broad band of white set between black crescents of scapulars and extending from nape to tail. Wing coverts are white. The rump tail coverts and at least half the tail is white. From every angle the bill presents a sharply triangular shape in all the varieties. In flight males of Leuconota show white across wings broken by the black arcs of the scapulars and as a continuous white band from nape to tail. Butcher birds hunt in trees and drop to the ground to take prey. The Australian magpie forages predominately on the ground. It has long strong legs and feet which enable it to bound across the ground in pursuit of prey. These birds stalk about the ground with bold deliberate strides occasionally running or bounding to a spot where movement was detected. The birds then probe and jab the ground or among leaf litter logs or rocks. The sound of the magpie is like the butcher bird which has a rich melodious song delivered with a steeply uplifted bill partly open wings and fluffed out plumage. It can be found in open country scattered trees or clumps of eucalypts, tree lined rivers and partly cleared farmland.
BARKING OWL (Ninox Connivens) 35-45cm
This is a medium sized owl. It has brilliant yellow eyes and upper parts grey to grey/brown. The presence of these owls usually is revealed by their barking calls sometimes given from day-time roosts. If followed back to their source they may give a sighting of a roosting bird staring down with piercing eyes. The owl may fly when the roosting place is approached. It has silent flight which attracts noisy attention from small birds that give chase and reveal where the owl has landed by their mobbing harassing behaviour. The owl's call is a rapid "wook wook" which is clear and very carrying. It is pleasant and rather musical especially when a pair is calling. The male's call is slightly deeper than the female who responds with slightly higher clearer notes. They live in open country with stands of trees, tree-lined water courses and paperbark swamps.
BARN OWL (Tyto Alba) 30-40cm
This owl has a white heart-shaped disc on its face. There is a fine rim of fawn and brown. Its underparts are white with sparse dark spots. Its upper back is pale pearly grey. It upper parts are beautifully plumaged in soft intermixed buff, chestnut and grey with dark tipped white spots. It has moderately long legs which are lightly feathered almost to the foot. The feet and talons are quite lightly built. The owl's voice is a husky often wavering screech. It lives in diverse open country woodland, grassland and farmland. It roosts in trees, caves, buildings and crops.
MASKED OWL (Tyto Novaehollandiae) 35-37cm
This bird is a larger more heavily built version of the barn owl. It has thicker more powerful legs, feet and talons. It is usually darker colours. The voice of this owl is a harsh drawn-out unwavering screech which is stronger and deeper than that of the barn owl. It also cackles and has rattling shrieks and raspings. It roosts and nests in heavy forests, open woodland and farmland.
SCARLET ROBIN (Petroica Multicolor) 12-14cm
This is the best known of the red robins. Usually it is found in pairs. It waits patiently on a low perch and drops to the ground to take prey. It displays bold white markings in wings and tail and again when flying back up to its perch. It has black upper parts with a white spot on its forehead. The throat is black with an intense scarlet chest barely reaching down to its belly. It has a bold white bar across the wing and its outer tail feathers are white. It has a rather large head which merges into a plump body with slightly drooping wings. The voice of the robin is very high. It whistles a reeling series of trills which are not powerful but perhaps because of the shrill quality travels a considerable distance. The call has a pleasant cheery rippling quite musical quality. It lives in woodlands, cleared landscapes during autumn and winter.
VARIOUS BLUE WRENS 13-15cm
There are several varieties of blue wren across Australia and those found in this area include the variegated fairy wren, the splendid fairy wren and the superb fairy wren. The variegated fairy wren has a silvery azure crown merging into similar colour ear coverts. It has a black chest with a blue tail and bright chestnut back. Lavender washes along its flanks. It has a long blue tail. It has grey/brown wing tips. They sing only in the breeding season a high metallic squeaky and rather clockwork trill. They are a wide ranging species with varied habitat. They can be found in garden thickets of native or introduced shrubbery to spinifex and along watercourses beneath larger trees.
BUTTON QUAIL (Turnix Velox) 13-16cm
This bird is a small red and cinnamon dark winged quail with short deep grey bill. Its crown is usually lightly mottled. Its eye is pale and it has dark scalloped breast margins with white flanks. The bold contrast of rufus coverts stand against darker flight feathers. It occurs in small coveys or pairs. When they are disturbed they squat or scuffle through grass or rise on whirring wings. They keep low often turning to show white flanks before dropping to hide in distant cover. The voice is soft high resonant and musical making a "whoo, whoo, whoo". It makes a squeaky chatter when flushed. It lives in diverse grassland and open woodland country, including spinifex, grassland and crops.
WEDGE-TAILED EAGLE (Aquila Audax) 0.9-1.1m
This bird has a wingspan of 1.8 - 2.5 metres. It is the largest Australian raptor. It is dark with heavily feathered legs and feet. It has a long tail which is overall diamond shaped. The tip is a pointed wedge. Old males are black with rufus hackles on the nape. They are tawny across the wings. They are proportionately small headed and long necked. They have long fingered wing tips flexing upwards. Wedge-tailed eagles soar on upswept wings and may rise to 2000 metres or more. Once they are aloft they skilfully use updrafts of thermals or hill slopes rising effortlessly rarely needing to flap their huge wings. Active flapping flight is used only close to the ground. They use powerful deep slow beats interspersed with flat glides. They live in open country where they hunt. They nest in forests arid scrublands and areas of farm clearing.
AZURE KINGFISHER (Alcedo Azurea) 17-19cm
This is a small kingfisher with a heavy bill. It has upper parts which are deep royal to azure blue. The underbody is mostly buff to deep rufus buff. They are always over or beside water. It has a buff white spot above the bill. It has a buffy/white throat. It has red feet with only two forward toes. They are often overlooked unless a high squeak draws attention as it darts across a river pool skimming low across the water in a momentary glimpse of blue and vanishing around a bend or into overhanging vegetation. It lives amongst the well vegetated banks of creeks, swamps and lakes. It is often silent but has frequent sharp squeaking when breeding. It is most likely to draw attention when dropping to water with a small splash to take small fish.
SACRED KINGFISHER (Todiramphus sanctus) 20-23cm
This is a well-known common kingfisher which migrates southwards for summer breeding. It attracts attention with persistent calling. It hunts on dry land for small reptiles and large insects. It also uses margins of wetlands. It has a green head with a black mask and collar of buff tint. It has a green back and its underparts are white/buff tinted. The tail is blue. The buff tint is strongest on lower flanks. It has blue/green wing coverts. The female is greener and duller than the male and has less buff beneath. They live in open forest, woodland and semi arid scrublands.
HAPPY BIRD WATCHING
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