Species Guides

Australia's Most Sought-After Birds

Detailed guides to finding Australia's rarest, most elusive, and most spectacular birds — with expert advice on locations, seasons, and the tours that will get you there.

Critically EndangeredEndangeredVulnerableLeast Concern
CR · Critically EndangeredExpert

Orange-bellied Parrot

Neophema chrysogaster

One of the world's rarest birds makes an annual journey between Tasmania and mainland Australia.

Coastal SaltmarshSamphire Wetland
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CR · Critically EndangeredExpert

Regent Honeyeater

Anthochaera phrygia

A bird so rare its song is being forgotten — now learning to sing from captive-raised companions.

Box-Ironbark WoodlandDry Sclerophyll Forest
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CR · Critically EndangeredHard

Swift Parrot

Lathamus discolor

The fastest parrot in Australia makes a winter migration that's one of conservation's most urgent battles.

Box-Ironbark WoodlandEucalypt Forest
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CR · Critically EndangeredExpert

Plains-wanderer

Pedionomus torquatus

Australia's rarest grassland bird — a living fossil with no close relatives on Earth.

Native GrasslandMitchell Grass Plain
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EN · EndangeredHard

Gouldian Finch

Erythrura gouldiae

The most colourful finch in the world calls the Northern Territory home.

Savanna WoodlandEucalypt Woodland
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EN · EndangeredModerate

Gang-gang Cockatoo

Callocephalon fimbriatum

Victoria's avian emblem — a creaking, clowning cockatoo of the mountain forests.

Mountain Ash ForestAlpine Ash Forest
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VU · VulnerableHard

Southern Cassowary

Casuarius casuarius

Australia's most dangerous bird — and one of its most magnificent.

Tropical RainforestWet Sclerophyll Forest
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VU · VulnerableHard

Glossy Black-Cockatoo

Calyptorhynchus lathami

The quietest, most elusive of the black cockatoos.

Coastal HeathlandSheoak Woodland
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VU · VulnerableHard

Malleefowl

Leipoa ocellata

Australia's ancient megapode — an engineer that builds mounds the size of a small car.

Mallee ScrubSemi-arid Woodland
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LC · Least ConcernModerate

Superb Lyrebird

Menura novaehollandiae

Nature's greatest mimic lives in Victoria's mountain ash forests.

Wet Sclerophyll ForestTemperate Rainforest
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