BIRDS - Friends of Bendigo Botanic Gardens

In the trees:
	Sulphur-crested Cockatoos screech loudly and often. They look for a variety of food mostly on the ground as well as trees and shrubs.
	Galahs check out nest hollows in tall eucalypts, but mostly feed on the ground on seeds, tubers and insect larvae.
	The Grey Butcherbird’s beautiful song can be heard across the Gardens. They look for small prey on foliage and on the ground using their hooked beak.
	Noisy Miners are a medium-sized honeyeater, mostly grey with yellow beak and legs that live in colonies in parkland and forest edges. They have nested in the Gardens. Like many honeyeaters, they are aggressive to other birds in their territories.
In flowering native trees and shrubs:
	Rainbow Lorikeets are bright, colourful and noisy. They fly quickly in groups through the Gardens. They feed on nectar, pollen, flowers, soft fruit and insects.
	The Blue-faced Honeyeater is a large, noisy honeyeater at home in urban gardens. A blue face marks it as an adult bird. They eat a wide variety of foods besides nectar and live in small groups.
	Red Wattlebirds are similar in size to Blue-faced Honeyeaters. They have harsh noisy calls and are a common urban honeyeater. Honeyeater brush tongues are adapted to taking nectar, but invertebrates are also an important part of their diets.
Out foraging on the lawns, larger birds:	Lawns can provide a wide variety of foods for birds: various invertebrates, tubers, seeds, herbs and the grass itself.
	The Little Raven has sleek black plumage. It is the common scavenging urban Bendigo ‘crow’. It often flips wings when giving its short `ark ark’ call on a perch. They nest in tall trees.
	The Masked Lapwing has noisy, strident calls night and day. It likes short grass near water, such as the lawn near the swimming pool.
	The Australian Magpie is another melodious songster. Its plumage is a mix of black, white and grey depending on age, sex and sub-species. It likes a mix of open areas and trees
	The Crested Pigeon has a distinctive head crest. It feeds on the ground and takes off with a distinctive noise from its wings. Males can be seen bowing and displaying to females in the Gardens.
	The Eastern Rosella is a medium-sized parrot; the female is a little duller than this male bird. They nest in hollows and have a variety of calls. As well as lawns, they feed in trees and shrubs on a wide variety of foods.

Diving in and out of shrubbery:
	The New Holland Honeyeater is a smaller black, white and yellow honeyeater. They chatter away in dense flowering shrubbery, especially those supplying nectar.
	Silvereyes are small olive-green and grey birds with a prominent white eye ring. They are usually seen in little flocks as they forage through shrubbery on flowers, foliage and fruit.
On and around the lagoon:
	The Australian Wood Duck male is clad in handsome grey and brown plumage, the female is a little duller. They feed mostly on short grass and herbs near water. Their common call is a complaining note, often given while flying. They have had young in the Gardens.
	The Pacific Black Duck is more brown than black, with a prominent black eyestripe. It is a common dabbling duck on our urban wetlands. The female voice is a loud, descending quack-quack-quack.
	The Australian White Ibis has a white body with black plumes at the rear, and black upper neck, head & bill. It forages in dry or flooded grassland and ploughed paddocks, mostly for invertebrates, making it a farmer’s friend.
	The White-faced Heron has a grey body, long legs, a white face and a beak made for grasping small prey. This heron can be seen in shallow water or damp grass or roosting. They are mostly silent, giving an occasional harsh croak.
	Magpie-larks: this male bird has a black throat, females have a white throat. Their call is a loud peewee-peewee which may be performed as a male-female duet. Often found near water, where they can find mud to make their nests, they forage for invertebrates and seeds on muddy edges and short grass.
Out foraging on the lawns, smaller birds:
	The Willie Wagtail is an active bird that can be seen in open areas flitting over the ground wagging its tail to flush insects. It has nested in the Gardens. Willies can be heard singing on moonlit nights.
	Superb Fairy-wren: this bird’s blue cap and blue-black throat show it is a breeding male. Non-breeding males, females and young birds are a duller brown and white. They forage for food on open ground and in nearby shrubbery.
	The Yellow-rumped Thornbill is a small bird that can be most easily identified by its bright yellow rump, especially in flight. They can be seen in groups or small flocks, feeding on open ground. They have a bright, warbling, tinkling call.
	Welcome Swallows have rufous faces which contrast with dark blue-black backs. They hawk for insects, showing their forked tails, often over water or grassland. They make small mud nests.
Scratching in the mulch:
	The Common Blackbird is the only introduced species on this list. This is an adult male bird, the females and younger birds being brown. They are often seen or heard foraging in mulch, especially under shrubbery. The male has a melodious song.

Birdlife of the Gardens