ReefBlitz 2015 Rowes Bay Common Bird Species

The Brown Gerygone (Gerygone mouki), previously known as the Brown Warbler, is a small passerine bird native to eastern coastal Australia. The upper parts of the Brown Gerygone are a deep olive-grey or olive-brown, while its face and underparts are a much paler grey, cream, or washed-out brown. The tail feathers are dark and may be white-tipped. It is approximately 10 cm in length. less ↑

The Mangrove Gerygone (Gerygone levigaster) is a species of bird in the Australian warbler family Acanthizidae. The species is also known as the Mangrove Warbler. The species is thought to form a superspecies with the closely related Fan-tailed Gerygone of Melanesia and the Australian Western Gerygone. There are three subspecies of Mangrove Gerygone, G. l. pallida, found in southern New Guinea, the nominate race G. l. levigaster, which is found from coastal Western Australia to coastal... less ↑

The Blue-faced Honeyeater (Entomyzon cyanotis), also colloquially known as the Bananabird, is a passerine bird of the honeyeater family Meliphagidae. It is the only member of its genus, and it is most closely related to honeyeaters of the genus Melithreptus. Three subspecies are recognised. At around 29.5 cm (11.6 in) in length, the blue-faced species is large for a honeyeater. Its plumage is distinctive, with olive upperparts, white underparts, and a black head and throat with white nape... less ↑

The Dusky Myzomela or Dusky Honeyeater (Myzomela obscura) is a small, brown bird that is a common resident of New Guinea, the Moluccas, the islands of Torres Strait, and northern Australia, where there are two separated populations, one in the Top End, another from Cape York Peninsula along the east coast as far south as the New South Wales border, though the species is rare south of Rockhampton. less ↑

The Acrocephalus warblers are small, insectivorous passerine birds belonging to the genus Acrocephalus. Formerly in the paraphyletic Old World warbler assemblage, they are now separated as the namesake of the marsh and tree warbler family Acrocephalidae. They are sometimes called marsh warblers or reed warblers, but this invites confusion with Marsh Warbler and Reed Warbler proper, especially in North America where it is common to use lower case for bird species. less ↑

Woodswallows are soft-plumaged, somber-coloured passerine birds. There is a single genus, Artamus, The woodswallows are either treated as a subfamily, Artaminae in an expanded family Artamidae, which includes the butcherbirds and Australian Magpie, or as the only genus in that family. The generic name, which in turn gives rise to the family name, is derived from the Ancient Greek artamos, meaning butcher or murder. The name was given due to their perceived similarity to shrikes, indeed... less ↑

Cisticolas (pronounced sis-TIC-olas) are a genus of very small insectivorous birds formerly classified in the Old World warbler family Sylviidae, but now usually considered to be in the separate family Cisticolidae, along with other southern warbler genera. They are believed to be quite closely related to the swallows and martins, the bulbuls and the white-eyes. The genus contains about 45 species, of which only two are not found in Africa: one in Madagascar and the other... less ↑

The Australian Raven (Corvus coronoides) is a passerine bird in the crow family native to much of southern and northeastern Australia. Measuring 46–53 cm (18–21 in) in length, it has all-black plumage, beak and legs with a white iris. It is distinguished by its prominent throat hackles and grey bases of its black feathers. Two subspecies are recognised, which differ slightly in calls and are quite divergent genetically. Nicholas Aylward Vigors and Thomas Horsfield described it in 1827,... less ↑

The Pied Butcherbird (Cracticus nigrogularis) is a medium-sized songbird native to Australia. It grows about 35 cm (14 in) long and has black and white plumage. The colour of juvenile birds, which are accompanied by their parents, is brown and white. As they mature their brown feathers are replaced by black feathers. It is common in woodlands and in urban environments. Its diet consists mostly of small vertebrates and insects. They are tame and inquisitive birds and have... less ↑

The Australian Magpie (Cracticus tibicen) is a medium-sized black and white passerine bird native to Australia and southern New Guinea. A member of the Cracticidae, it is closely related to the butcherbirds. At one stage, the Australian Magpie was considered to be three separate species, although zones of hybridisation between forms reinforced the idea of a single species with several subspecies, nine of which are now recognised. The adult Australian Magpie is a fairly robust bird... less ↑

The Pied Currawong (Strepera graculina) is a medium-sized black passerine bird native to eastern Australia and Lord Howe Island. One of three currawong species in the genus Strepera, it is closely related to the butcherbirds and Australian Magpie of the family Artamidae. Six subspecies are recognised. It is a robust crowlike bird averaging around 48 cm (19 in) in length, black or sooty grey-black in plumage with white undertail and wing patches, yellow irises, and a heavy bill.... less ↑

The Red-backed Fairywren (Malurus melanocephalus) is a species of passerine bird in the Maluridae family. It is endemic to Australia and can be found near rivers and coastal areas along the northern and eastern coastlines from the Kimberley in the northwest to the Hunter Region in New South Wales. Like other fairywrens, this species displays marked sexual dimorphism. The male adopts a striking breeding plumage, with a black head and upperparts and tail, and brightly coloured... less ↑

The Australasian Figbird (Sphecotheres vieilloti) is a conspicuous medium-sized passerine bird native to a wide range of wooded habitats in northern and eastern Australia, southern Papua New Guinea, and the Kai Islands in Indonesia. It was formerly considered a subspecies of S. viridis, then simply referred to as the Figbird (a name still commonly used in Australia, where the Australasian Figbird is the only figbird). It is common in large parts of its range, and occurs... less ↑

The Scaly-breasted Munia or Spotted Munia (Lonchura punctulata), known in the pet trade as Nutmeg Mannikin or Spice Finch, is a sparrow-sized estrildid finch native to tropical Asia. A species of the genus Lonchura, it was formally described and named by Carl Linnaeus in 1758. Its name is based on the distinct scale-like feather markings on the breast and belly. The adult is brown above and has a dark conical bill. The species has 11 subspecies... less ↑

Fantails are small insectivorous birds of Australasia, Southeast Asia and the Indian subcontinent belonging to the genus Rhipidura in the family Rhipiduridae. Most of the species are about 15 to 18 cm long, specialist aerial feeders, and named as "fantails", but the Australian Willie Wagtail, is a little larger, and though still an expert hunter of insects on the wing, concentrates equally on terrestrial prey. less ↑

The friarbirds (also called leatherheads) are about 15 species of relatively large honeyeaters in the genus Philemon. Additionally, the single member of the genus Melitograis is called the white-streaked friarbird. Friarbirds are found in Australia, Papua New Guinea, eastern Indonesia and New Caledonia. They eat nectar, insects and other invertebrates, flowers, fruit and seeds. less ↑

Myiagra is a genus of monarch flycatcher, sometimes referred to as the broad-billed flycatchers or simply broadbills (not to be confused with the broadbills of the family Eurylaimidae). They are separated from other members of the family, particularly the Monarcha monarchs they resemble, by their consistent sexual dimorphism, egg patterning, and the crested heads that often lack facial patterns (a few Monarcha monarchs also lack facial patterns). The genus is spread across Australasia, with some representatives... less ↑

The Magpie-lark (Grallina cyanoleuca) is a conspicuous Australian bird of small to medium size, also known as the Mudlark in Victoria and Western Australia, the Murray Magpie in South Australia, and as the Peewee in New South Wales and Queensland. It had been relegated to a subfamily of fantails in the family Dicruridae (drongos), but has been placed in a new family of Monarchidae (monarch flycatchers) since 2008. less ↑