Broadbill - Birdwatcher's site
AUSTRALIAN BIRDS
lleft to right Australasian Pelican,
King Parrot and White-browed Woodswallow
© Koji TAGI
Australia is a large and isolated continent
which holds about 22 times of Japanese territory
and covers various climate zone from tropic
to sub-Antarctic. What do you imagine nature in
Australia? OK, kangaroo in the red outback or
koala on a blanch of an eucalyptus tree?
How about birds in Australia? You may know
Emu and Laughing Kookaburra. There are about 770 species of birds in
Australia up to date and most of them are
endemic in Australia.
Australia is considered originally a part
of very large continent, Gondwanaland. Some
of Australian species are still share the
distribution in South America and/or Africa.
These include parrots, grass finch (with
Africa) and whistling-duck (South America).
Australia and Papua New Guinea have
many common species. Some of monarchs, honeyeaters
and butcherbirds, most of bronze-cuckoos
and small cuckoos are found both Australia
and Papua New Guinea.(The photo below is a Horsfield's Bronze-Cuckoo which occurs Indonesia,
Papua New Guinea and Australia)
There are also many Oriental species from
Southeast Asia. Cotton Pygmy-goose, White-browed Crake, Buff-banded Rail, Sarus Crane, Brahminy
Kite, Green-winged Pigeon (Emerald Dove)
and pittas may be originally straggler from
Southeast Asia. On the other hand, whistlers,
fairy-warbler (gerygone) and woodswallows
may have expanded the range from Australia.
Australia used to be dominated by rainforest
with humid climate. This types of forest
are important habitat for lyrebird, riflebird
(birds of paradise) and bowerbird.
However, during the northward moving, Australia
has been changed to drier continent. Rainforest
has been lost except eastern coast where
relatively more humid throughout the year.
In the drier parts, eucalyptus and acacia
spread the range. They have elongated or
pointed leaves instead of broad leaves of
trees in the rainforest and hard shell to
protect the seed from the dry weather and
bush fire. Birds also have adopted into the
environment. (The photo is a banksia sp. The fruit is
covered with hard shell which hatches after
bushfire.)
Honeyeaters and lorikeets are nectivorous
of these flowers while cockatoos and parrots
come to feed these seeds. Because of their
food source, honeyeaters are often nomadic
for looking for flowers in arid or semi-arid
Australia.
Further inland Australia, precipitation is
even less. Tall trees are scattered and red
land is more exposed. The Australian desert is however not sandy
unlikely our imagination of desert. Porcupine
like spinifex is a typical plant in the desert.
Their leaves is likely needle. Very pointed
and sharp. (Photo is a typical scenery in arid Australia) Birds in the desert is often strongly nomadic.
Budgerigar and Diamond Dove forms a very large flock and look for their
food source mainly in arid Australia. There
are another types of birds which adopted into
the arid harsh environment. Spinifex pigeon(refer to "Mallee and Desert Birds") and grasswrens are the representatives.
They rarely fly but run very fast from spinifex
to another spinifex.
Now I introduce you OZ birds with typical
habitat in Australia.
For your comments and inquiry
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