Southern birds

Pretty much everything is south of Darwin, so don’t take it personally if someone calls you a ‘southerner’ up here, even if you feel like you aren’t that far south… same applies to these birds! 

Wagtails on parade

Willie wagtail

Flickety flick goes the wagtails tail – there’s no need to wonder where this little fellow got its name from.

Willie wagtails are common birds aross most of mainland Australia. They weave neat little cup-shaped nests and take care to line them with soft grasses, fur or hair. They lay speckled eggs, which are incubated by both the male and female bird and cared for until the next hatch is on its way – at which point the parents drive them away. They often recycle materials from their old nests when it is time to build a new one. 

Splendour blue

Splendid fairy wren

The male splendid fairy wren is a magnificent mix of blues, however his mate, while still a very cute little bird, is mostly brown. They live in groups and forage together, mostly on the ground.

Mr Pee Wee goes to town

peewee/Murray magpie/mudlark/peewit

A fellow of many names, the Murray-magpie or magpie lark or mudlark or peewee or peewit or whatever you  might call him in your neck of the woods,, doesn’t mind a trip to town, although he’s equally fond the countryside.. Smaller than a magpie – and not related to magpies or larks, despite some of those names – it is also a bird of many locations, being found across much of Australia. As such, you’ll find this cheeky fellow in northern birds too!

There are other birds that be could be included here but they are all covered in the other sections, so please take a look through the rest of the birds.