Birds of Queensland, Australia

Queensland, Australia is host to hundreds of different birds. I have taken photos of several birds in Queensland, Australia from 2005 to present 2014.

I am always filled with awe when I see them, especially their flight feathers because many contain such magnificent colours as well as having a broad wingspan, and of course, their grace.

I love watching them soar into the sky, landing, and again taking off. I've noticed that sometimes when they land, if they are looking for food, they will generally go into a flowered tree or shrub and forage, when they want to rest, they will land on the fence, in the middle of a shade tree, or on top of any tree. I've watched them dip into pools and have a video I've posted of one such event.

While I do have several photos, I do not have a photo of each bird, I will add links to a page that does. That will be called "links"

I am not an expert on these birds, I have taken the photos out of hobby and interest, though I have looked them up and learned a little about them which I will share with the pictures that I post.

I can say that I have seen crows do things I did not think was possible for a bird to do, they are very smart and work as a team quite well. Such as this story :

While sitting in the car, in a parking lot waiting for my husband, I noticed on the roof of a fast food place, some Crows, going through the take away bags and taking things out of them and eating. Then I watched 3 fly down to the garbage bins, one sat on the edge of the bin, while two of them lifted the lid by grabbing it and both flying upward at the same time, the one sitting on the edge flew in and took at a bag, flew back to the top of the roof and repeated this a few times. Then all three fly up to the roof together and went through the bags. I think my jaw was on the floorboard of the car! I had never seen birds do this.

Another time we went to the beach and got hot chips on the way - also known as french fries, I had not finished mine and tucked the container into the side of our beach bag. Once settled, I grabbed my water and chips and started snacking, but not for long, when the seagulls smelled them they came toward me, I quickly tossed one, not because I wanted to feed them but to get as many away from me as I could..I was a bit frightened. Worse thing I could have done! There were so many I yelled for my husband, truly panicked.. Within just 10 seconds of bringing them out, I'd tossed them all as far away from me as possible. While Seagulls are lovely to look at, I don't want them attacking me for food, if they even would, but it seemed to me they would. I must admit, In hindsight, its rather funny.

One of the birds that I like, is the Australian White Ibis, which I will post a photo of, no one here seems to like them much, they are scavengers and are called "Garbage birds" because they eat anything. I still like them and despite how they forage, I think their beautiful.

My favourite bird is the Galah, they are pink and grey in colour and just beautiful. You can tell a female because she has red eyes, while the male has brown. Many people here have them as pets.

I think the most colourful in Queensland, is the Rainbow Lorikeet and Crimson Rosella. I'm sure that is debatable.

I hope you enjoy my pictures and videos...and if you have any questions, or would like me to add more, please let me know.

Thank you

It is said that Queensland is a birders paradise, and while researching the subject of Birds in Queensland, I found there are over 630 species of birds in Queensland, and approximately 815 in the country.

There are birds though that are endangered in Australia.

1. Regent Honeyeater - from Eastern Australia
2. Swift Parrot - Mainly in the Blue Gum Forest of Southeast Tasmania
3. Square Tailed Kite - Likes Riverine areas and wooded areas near open country
4. Bush Stone Curlew - Found across much of Australia, and only endangered in New South Whales.
5. Turquoise Parrot - Was once common in Sydney
6. Scarlet Chested Parrot - This bird is very rare and generally only found in inland areas.

There are also extinct birds, about 24 of them. The reasons vary, ranging from:

1. Hunting
2. Fires
3. Predators
4. Habitat clearance
5. Black Rats and
6. Starvation/over grazing

The top 5 companion birds in Australia are:

1. Parakeets and Budgies - These small birds are great for beginners because they are hardy. They are also smart, some even learn to say a word or two. Life span is 12 to 14 years.
2. Cockatiels - These birds aren't really talkers, but they do whistle a lot, but may mimic household sounds, like your telephone, mobile phone, doorbell, etc. Life span is 15 to 20 years.
3. Finches and Canaries - They have soft bills and don't interact with humans much, making it a nice pet that will not require a lot human interaction. Life Span is up to 10 years.
4. Lovebirds - The smallest known parrots, these birds are quiet and that makes them great for those who live in units or apartments. Life span is up to 20 years. And, lastly
5. African Greys - (I'd personally love one myself) - These birds are said to be the most intelligent and have a huge vocabulary. The drawback with them is that they tend to get board easily because of their intelligence, you would want to be sure that you can take the time to interact with the bird and provide fun activities for it. Life span is 50 to 70 years.

Below is a list of links I used to do my research on these beautiful birds.

• http://birds.about.com/od/breedsofbirds/tp/topbirds.htm
• http://birdsqueensland.org.au/downloads/qld_birds_select_brochure.pdf
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_extinct_animals_of_Australia
• http://www.tourisminternet.com.au/chcurlew.htm
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lists_of_birds_by_region