Australia's Most Common Birds 

Fun fact: Every day hundreds of Lorikeets fly into Silverwater Gaol and land on the caged windows of the cells. Prisoners get 2 small single serve jams every day, and many of them save them for the Lorikeets. They’re one of the highlights of many people’s days!

"High on nectar and out for blood" is an excellent description of a noisy miner.

My twin and I rescued a crow that was trapped in our disused chimney in Sydney. We could hear him in there scrabbling and calling out, so we fired up the pop-off wheel and cut some bricks out. By the time we had organised that, he was just about dead from lack of water. So he just opened his mouth and said "Farrrrk" quietly when I picked him up. We gave him water and put him in a quiet room, in a box for a couple of hours. My bro went to work, and I walked in to see him sitting up on the back of a chair, and JUST LIKE THAT we had the most calm and companionable pet bird. I walked over to him with some little bits of meat and more water, and he took it from me without even slightly flinching. We named him Big Bird, because ACTUALLY they are fairly big. He had hurt his wing muscles fighting in the cramped chimney so he was obviously too hurt to use his wings for some days, wouldn't even spread them. But right from the first day, he would hop up where you would go tap a perch, he would call with a seeming happiness back to you if you spoke to him, and he was quite happy to have you scratch all around his head. He never pecked people or damaged anything. You could offer him your hand and say "Wanna hop up?" and he either would straight away, or he would literally make a negative noise, he had a "No" noise. You would play a trick on him, like have a piece of biscuit and pretend to throw it to him, and he didn't appreciate that so he would sit straight up and yell his "NO !" word at you. I brought a ping pong ball and taught him tricks and to play fetch, and he would bobble along quick as light and grab it and throw it straight back to you, as good as a child. The only problem with him wasn't really a problem because I ALSO woke up at dawn every morning. My girlfriend hated him and my bros girlfriend wouldn't even think of coming into the house. Eventually, after maybe a month, his wings got strong, and he could fly circuits around our living room and kitchen, so one day we opened the verandah doors and he hopped up on the rail, looked back at us, and flew off. Didn't see him for quite a while, then in a park in the suburb, that same year, he flew down and sat on my brothers shoulder and let him scratch Birds head.

I honestly think one of the most iconic bird calls is the Bush Stone Curlew. Creepy as hell to hear at night, but also the most hilarious birds to find during the day. They're so weird, I love them.

As an Australian bird, i agree with this 100%

I know Kookaburras are the stereotype but the soundscape of Australia in my mind has always been dominated by the Raven and Magpie calls to me. Especially the Raven.

Finally a RU-vid video on Australian wildlife that doesn't make me want to fall asleep with its voiceover. You're funny as hell

If you haven't, try looking for the Australian wedge tail eagle. They are such pretty birds

WE WANT MORE. These videos are great! I got the whole family in on this one. The kids loved it.

Your script writing and production is insanely good! Waiting for a dedicated bin chicken video

The two funniest things that I've ever seen at my mum's place in Mt Crosby were 1) two crested doves fighting by running around in circles are trying to slap each other with a wing. 2) a cockatoo landing on a fern branch so that it could see what was going on in the lounge room and it immediately snapping under its weight.

as a European I adore the sounds of Aussie birds. That's the first thing I notice gone missing whenever I have to leave, so thank you for these videos!!

As an Australian who loves birds, this was truly a video that exists

It’s 7:30 in the morning and already my Aussie bird interactions include being woken by my first Eastern Koel of the season at 5am. A King Parrot arrived for breakfast and proceeded to stare in my bedroom window and whistled loudly his order. When I went out to introduce him to the new feeder in the bottlebrush he ended up being ambushed by a pair of rainbow lorikeets. Thanks for the video I can’t get enough of our native species though my favourite is the spangled drongo most definitely because of its name 😂

Thanks for clearing up the difference between the _crested_ pigeon and the _topknot_ pigeon. I've been mistakenly calling crested pigeons "topknots" for years, and was recently surprised to see topknot pigeons listed as a disperser of some of Eastern Australia's larger rainforest fruits. Now it makes sense.

My dad was a truckie and would tell me about times he’d see Galah’s swaying around on the side of highways, pissed as parrots. They would swoop down to consume grain which would spill from Interstate semis and it wasn’t uncommon for a bunch of spilled barley grains to make contact with water and gradually ferment on the side of the road so that by the time the Galahs have had a gutful the fermented grain would turn into alcohol in their stomachs and they’d be hammered before they knew it.

We used to live in an area with lots of sulphur crested cockatoos and I loved watching their antics. The wail of the elderly or sickly birds was something else, though! The thing that really surprised us was that if one was killed, the flock would solemnly keep watch over the site for three days.

This video was a delight. As a fellow Victorian, I enjoyed learning about and gaining a greater sense of appreciation for a lot of our local bird life!

The black cockatoos with their whistley calls to each other ripping trees and cones to shreds in sydney were my favourite when I lived in Aus

Shrubs and garden cover for small birds are the best way to kindly manage the more dominating birds from taking over. The natives get along in my garden after I replaced lawn with shrubs. The bird marked CE is actually incredibly friendly with humans, love sitting on your ankles and are super communal and very snuggly in their old age.

We are truely lucky to live on a continent with such an amazing variety of birds.

My parents just finished their 'Big Lap', and one of the things that my Mum missed the most was birdsong. Lots of flat open areas where there's no life around, and going weeks on end without bird calls passively in the background was a surprise when she first noticed it. She's happy to be back and witness the local chatter once more~!

"This phenomenon has been called a pink out...by me, just now" 🤣👏👏

Many years ago I took a couple of Irish backpackers back to Adelaide from Coober Pedy, one of the things they said to me was that they loved the birds, the variety , the colours, the songs, they had not experienced it anywhere else.

Everything about this video is perfect! I could not stop smiling. Clearly you love and appreciate these birds, and as a native Australian myself, it was a joy to see so many of my favourites getting a turn in the spotlight. ^_^

“Like a printer having an asthma attack.” Should be found in print AND online so as to give a nod to you sir forever and a day, for this great phrase.

The sulphur Crested Cockatoo is LITERALLY me

The "Pink out", "gotta make sure it's dead" and the "blue balls" bit had me LOL!!! I've seen the pretty little Superb Fairywrens around and I can't look at them the same again after this. Thank you for the laughs and the information. I'm your new fan :)

We're lucky that the majority of out native birds are gorgeous songbirds. Thanks for giving them the love and recognition they deserve.

The Aussie bird count started the same day as this video was published, and goes until the end of the week (Oct 16-22), and has a great reference to identify birds in your area.

I left Australia a couple of decades ago. Still miss the sound of Aussie birds! Thank you for the trip down memory lane.

Perth girl here who really loves Aussie birbs :D (pink and grey galahs are my love they bless my day every time I see them) I super appreciate you including the bird calls, I've heard the red wattlebird's call so many times before but never knew it was that bird. your humour is amazing too this really made me laugh, I think this is a video I should watch whenever I'm sad ❤️ I fully agree with taking the time in our busy lives to stop and appreciate the beautiful birbs around us and I'm so glad you feel the same. thank you for making such an awesome video!!

Honestly Australian birds have the strangest yet nicest sounds ever for some reason

Your channel combines my two favorite creatures, birds and Australians 🙂

A few months ago, There were Rainbow Lorikeets everywhere in my neighborhood. It was cute seeing them pop out of little holes trees. They were loud! But it was a sound that that never bothers me. Then it was the occasional Ibis taking a stroll down the street. And now, it’s the Willie Wagtails that greet us in cafes! Fearless tiny birds that are equally adorable. But with a call so loud and memorable!

This was absolutely stunning, beautiful, perfect in every way. Your comedy is hilarious. I never thought I would ever hear a bird person talk like this but good on ya’👍🏻.

Great video mate. Most of these birds are hugely underrated. My partner and I spent months trying to figure out what bird made the currawong song and we were so excited when we finally found them while hiking. They really are mysterious guys.

Please do a video on the Australian Corvids. I got into an argument about the Common Australian Raven where I corrected someone who was calling them Crows. Yes it's a common mistake that just about everybody makes but there is a difference between a Crow and a Raven, size being the most obvious one.

This video was far more entertaining then I bargain for

My mum always used to call mudlarks "willie wagtails", wasn't until I was older I found out they were completely different. There's also a currawong that chills out near the local shopping centre and I have a pair of crested pigeons near my house that I've spotted "getting it on" near my DIY bird feeder. Gotta love aussie birds.

I love magpie larks (murray magpie) and all our birds, I had a pet murray magpie that i found when i was a kid I named Chan, he was so cool. I grew up in the northern suburbs of Adelaide and barely ever seen minor birds. In about 5 to 10 years i started seeing them everywhere. Great video mate. I also grew up out in the country 45 minutes north of adelaide and always seen eagles and hawks.

Fantastic. Would love to see further episodes about common Australia raptors and ground dwelling birds, of which we have no shortage.

My favorites are the grey butcher birds. We had about 5 or so living on our street for a couple months and they were so sweet; slowing building their trust for us as we left food for them, serenading us with their lovely song. Fun fact about grey butcher birds: every family has their own unique song. It's been a while since they've lived on our street and I miss them, hope they're out there living their best life.

We moved up to Wentworth Falls last May and have just fallen in love with the birds we see and hear daily. We walked around the lake today and admired Rosella, King Parrot, a female Bower Bird, Magpie, Currawong, Black Cockatoo and White Cockatoo. We saw plenty of others we can't identify yet. It amazes me how many more birds we see up here.

A video on ways to tell the various blackbirds apart would be awesome. Especially ravens vs crows.

This is everything I wanted in a birds video. Never leave me and keep making these, I implore you.

I've been overseas for the last six months, and listening to the sounds of Australian birds again is so nostalgic! Sounds of the bush!

I feel very blessed. I have every single one of these birds in my garden, including the king parrot and tawny frogmouth. We also get spangled drongos and black cockatoos. I can sit for hours in my back garden (3/4 of an acre) that back into bush land and listen to the animals.

All our Aussie birds are so great! This video was amazing as well, thanks!

Awesome video from absolutely my new favourite RU-vid channel.

just last week i saw a pied currawong for the first time and videos just don't do justice to how gorgeous those birds are. this one flew down behind as i was working and watched me for a few minutes. this was just a couple feet away. since they look like crows i think people might overlook them but to me they are striking, especially their bright orange eyes. even after living here for 8 years i don't get sick of all the native birds. they're all so gorgeous in their own right

I live in a suburb of Perth Western Australia and my house backs onto a park. I'm awoken every morning by a group of fourteen bronzewing pigeons; two willy wag tails; around twenty mourning doves; four magpies; two ravens; two galas; four crested pigeons and a mudlark. I put wild bird seed out at night. Only a little, scattered on the ground. Also fresh water. The mudlark is so smart if he thinks there are too many birds he will sound an alarm call, eveyone flies off and he can feed as he pleases 🤣 My little dog goes out in the yard each morning and the birds don't worry about her at all now. She leaves them alone completely. I did also have visiting pacific black ducks; wood ducks and shelducks but the local council filled in the creek behind my house and also killed all of the frogs! No water, no more ducks 😢 Love your videos ❤

YEWW ADMIN FACE REVEAL! But seriously, fantastic video mate. I have been working and studying environmental science for a few years, and your content is spot on factual and great fun.

The laughing Kookaburra is by far my favorite Australian bird. In my opinion, they look like punk rockers.🤘🤘 Looking forward to more videos from you. Great work, Thank You.🤩

I heard a lot of bird songs in my childhood and the wave of nostalgia I got from hearing the pied currawong's call made this video worth the watch

In New Zealand we have a small bird called a Fantail, my elderly German via 40 years in Australia calls them a Wagtail. I'd seen them in Cairns in 2018 otherwise wouldn't have known what he was talking about. A couple years ago I took a photo of a Kookaburra on the path outside our house in Kerikeri. Some were released by Sir George Grey on Kawau Island during the 1800's. Hi from NZ, Anthony

I love your informative,humorous view on our wonderful native birds which are such a delight in our lifes.I am looking forward to future videos,thank you so much.😊💚

Despite coming from a town who's name means "place of many galahs" my favourite Australian bird is the Apostle Bird, or lousy jack. They hang out in family groups, are very talkative and are always playing with each other, conducting heists of grain while 1 stays as a lookout, and warn me of snakes. They have a specific snake call and the group will gather around and harass it.

The cockatoos early in the morning is far too relatable and horrifying.

I haven’t watched a nature doc in years - now I’ve watched 2 of yours. I learnt heaps!

That was fun. Great job and can we have some more please. As a Kiwi I'm very envious of your colourful birds, they're gorgeous. Quite surprised at the 'special' categorisation you gave the mynah. I had expected that particular category would have been reserved for magpies, so mynahs must be pretty bad. Magpies are one of the few non English birds we have in common - the other being the white-eye or tauhou - which means stranger or new arrival in Māori - as apparently they were blown here from Australia sometime in the 1800s. 😊

How wonderful. We used to see every one of these birds at our place 20 years ago, but now unfortunately that number has drastically fallen to just 6 😢

So I do love the Butcher Bird, know nothing about them but very gorgeous, became very good friends with a couple and they would pop in occasionally and I would leave out a few bird seeds. This was 3-4 years ago and where I live in Brisbane they have never been back - hard to spot them at all this lovely breed.

I’ve been waiting for a channel like this for who knows how long. So happy to have found this channel.

Great video mate. The bursts of humour were unexpected, and gave the video a big lift. 😎🇦🇺

Great vid, thanks, I love all those birds. As a cyclist in Sydney I have been swooped many times, the frequency in this order: magpies, peewees, wattlebirds, butcherbirds. It's currently swooping season. Masked lapwings (plovers) are more show than actual violence in my experience. A mate swears he was regularly getting swooped by a raven a few weeks ago!

When I was younger, the behaviour of the fairy wrens caused them to be called 'furgling fairys'. This was so fun. Thankyou.

I saw my first King Parrots in the wild just the other day, on a trip down to Northern NSW. Beautiful plumage! 🙂

I'm absolutely gonna need you to make a video about Torresian crows. I saw one of their 'funerals' once, 60 or so crows gathered around somebody's yard all cawing wildly. I'm pretty sure they're the smartest animals in the country other than us.

Thanks for another brilliant production, Darcy! 🥰

Fantastic. Great to see the different variations of colour and species in the northern and southern states.

GORGEOUS the pink and white GALAH are my fav (today)

the Currawong is my fav! watching them hunt is impressive. Please keep these vids up, there's so much to explore and explain. also, the wattle birds, are they chasing the little wrens and honeyeaters for fun or prey? cheers

Awesome stuff mate. Got into bird watching recently and it’s amazing how much I used to take these beautiful creatures presence in our lives for granted. I get so excited now when I see a new, rare, or colourful bird, or even just the common ones like you included. Keep up the great work

I've always heard the Red Wattlebird's call in the neighborhood but I never witnessed the call being done by the bird itself since I hardly see it in the abundance of the bin chickens, pigeons and ravens. I appreciate the entertaining information and I don't think I'll ever get over the Red Wattlebird's call being described as "A printer having an asthma attack".

I live in an suburban area and we get most of the birds in this list in my backyard as we have fruit trees!

Please, there have to be more videos. You didn't do the pluver or bin chicken. I'm in Queensland and I'm not sure if you get pluvers but they are absolute beasts! I saw a pluver once plump up it's body and stare down a car in the middle of the road. The car reversed. They're just fearless. I mean, they make their nests in a slight divet in the grass on the ground. No protection at all. Like I said, beasts! I love your videos, by the way!

Absolutely obsessed with your videos already, so keen to see more in the future :)

My local golf course had a Willie Wagtail that guarded a footbridge over a creek. He stood there daring you to cross, darting from side to side, "None shall pass." When you did go to pass he hopped to one side and just watched you. "Okay then we'll call it a draw."

Also worth mentioning - Wagtails love faking you out on the bike path as you're coming towards them on your pushie. "Will I go left, or maybe right, or maybe left?".

Moving around the country I have found that the call of the Currawong is regional and very distinctively different from location to location. I’m not sure if they sometimes change their song within a single region like whales do, but keep your ears out for their distinctive caterwaul when you are travelling and I’m sure you will be pleasantly surprised with the variety of songs they sing.

A video on nesting boxes would be great, and hopefully greatly appreciated by the parrots too!

Living on 5 acres by a river with plenty of trees & flowering shrubs, we get all of the birds in your video, and then some more.

I am so glad you included the red wattle bird. I see them in my area all the time, and I never knew what they were. I love their song

Loving this. Please also think about doing videos on bird by climate zone (in aus) and how to build feeders for some of the more indangered species? Thank you for sharign your knowledge!

Great video, thank you. I love all our native birds although a few do test your patience. A small price to pay for such beauty.

I saw a bird down near the beach yesterday I thought was a budgie (it was far and very colourful) and because of this video I’ve discovered it was a pale headed rosella! I don’t think I’ve ever seen one before then! Thanks to this video, I now know of another cool bird near me! Thanks! ☺️

I didn't expect to enjoy this as much as I did

Man you make great videos, very informative and loving the Aussie humour added to it! I'd love to see more! And I would love one on our corvids ❤

Absolutely fantastic episode buddy.. Very much enjoyed this as much as the magpie video.. Please keep up the great work mate.. And I look forward to the next installment champion.. 🕊🐦🦅🦆🦉

Thank's for making thius channel, mate. I've had an affinity for wildlife my entire life. I have all of those birds within walking distance, I live near the dandenong ranges. I actually rescued a cockatoo a week ago. What melted my heart was it must have have been one that remembered me, I used to feet about 30 years, years back. Neibour didn't enjoy blown ear drums though. Anwyay this Cockatoo was below my balcony, he couldnt fly but he calmly let me check him out and than he climbed up my arm and I took him insides, he actually even slept on an old wood tower hanger while I wathed maverick haha. Anyway, birds are beautiful here, I especially love hearing the currowong in the early morning. Take care, mate.

Just found this at random and it's complete different from what I usually watch but let me say, it was a delightful surprise.

Good list. I've seen most of them here in Victoria. I'll add a few... Corellas. Slightly smaller cockatoo without the yellow crest, but just as loud and obnoxious. Plovers. Maybe even more angry than magpies and have wing claws. And fly around in the middle of the night screaming. Budgerigars. Budgies. Parakeets to foreigners. The Chihuahuas of parrots. Their name literally means "good tucker". They're the original chicken nuggets, and why boomerangs were invented. Emus, Our Most Benevolent Overlords. Not in every backyard, but there's plenty of them. Also, mudlarks are really stupid. I had a mudlark that would smash itself against my window from dawn to dusk all day because it could see its reflection. Stupid annoying bird. :)

What a wonderful video! Youre so calm yet informative. I've got fond memories of magpie calls in the mornings at my Grandma's, and looking at all of the Cockatoos on the balcony. However, id like to give a (dis)honorable mention to the Curlew and the Pluber (they both suck and are scary), and a more honorable one to the Pelican! I would love to know how to make these little guys (not the plubers or curlews, the other birds) more welcome in our urban environment.

That cockatoo wheely bin fact does NOT surprise me, I've been to this magnificent campsite with billions of cockatoos and they get into our bread, open other peoples containers, it's hectic, but they're so funny, god i love them.

Hello Darcy...this is the second of your videos I have watched back to back and I am very impressed with your productions...interesting facts, beautiful filming, classical music and a touch of humour...so you have a new subscriber. I love birds so much that I have never had one in a cage...I much prefer to observe them living their lives in freedom. Over the years I have tried to create a little eco system in the tiny back and front yards of my rented villa...using no poisons and growing as many trees and plants as possible including weeds...an artist's garden for that is what I am. Alas the "privatised" public housing company I rent through as a disabled tenant considers cobwebs, a dead tree (home for my native bees), dead twigs, dried grasses and weeds to be rubbish and want me to have a barren moonscape...in spite of their vitriol, I leave whatever detritus I can so my birdie friends have nesting materials...which my dovies and other birds use and appreciate! I am looking forward to watching your future films. Kind regards Sue

Hey Darcy, love your work and content. However, just want to bring to your attention about the issues with feeding wild birds. Feeding wild birds can cause them many diseases such as beak and feather (PCV) disease or metabolic bone disease. I think just have to be careful as not many people will look into details of this.

I come in battle armour to stand against the evil linguistics that taint the reputation of the sweet Australian Minor, often referred to as the noisey minor. For the past 20 years I have lived amongst these beautiful and friendly birds without cause for concern. Daily they clean the houses and gardens of ferocious insects that would desecrate my dwelling if not for their keen eyes. They also are a fantastic alarm, hence Noisey Minor, as they come together in flocks to give warning to people and animals when unwanted predators like cats enter the premises. In my opinion, 10/10 to these creatures and I wonder if others should take another look and reconsider their opinions. Awesome, informative and very funny video. 10/10 for you too, good sir.

Printer having an asthma attack is hilarious and accurate.

I love the lorikeet sounds, it reminds me of my childhood when i would hear them all the time when camping or fishing