Birds of the Darebin Creek
The Darebin Creek Catchment contains a diverse range of avian habitats including Grasslands, Wetlands and Grassy Woodlands. These habitats support a variety of bird species. Revegetation works throughout the Catchment have improved the vegetation structure of a previously degraded landscape transforming it into suitable bird habitat. A visit to the Darebin Creek will enable you to observe some of the many birds that have made it their home. Go for a walk along the Darebin Creek to see if you can spot some of the birds on this list. A good field guide to birds and some binoculars will help you to identify them correctly.
T awny Frogmouth A common woodland bird, but rarely seen because of its nocturnal habits and camouflage to appear like a branch stub. Grey to red-brown back streaked black, with paler underparts. Feeds on snails, insects and small vertebrates by flying from a perch to the ground. Prefers open woodland. V
Photo: Wendy Miller
oice: a constant “ooo-ooom”.
Yellow-Tailed Black Cockatoo
A large black cockatoo with yellow tail panels and cheek patches, with most of its body feathers edged in pale yellow. Often seen in groups of 5-10, feeding in the upper canopy or in feeding among dead wattle trees. You can tell the male from the female by the colour of the eye ring – the female’s eye is dark but the male’s is a bright pink.
Voice: a wailing “kee-ow”.
Superb Fairy-wren  T
Photo: Sean Walsh
hese tiny birds can be seen flitting about in shrubs in open woodlands along the Darebin Creek. The male displays bright blue plumage during the breeding period. The female is brown. Prefers woodlands habitat.
Voice: musical trill.
Hardhead “White eyed” Duck Less common than other ducks along the Darebin Creek, the hardhead has a rich brown body, white underneath and a distinctive white eye. The bill is black with a blue tip. Voice: nasal “mow”.
Red-rumped Parrot
Also found in woodland habitat this medium sized green parrot is often seen feeding along the Darebin
Creek Shared Trail. The male is bright green while the female is a pale olive. Commonly seen in pairs and small groups in grasslands and woodlands.
Voice: a two-syllable whistle when flying.
White-Faced Heron
An attractive 60-70cm long-necked bird living around creeks and wetlands. Overall grey shades in colour, with a white face to just behind the eye. Often seen perching on trees or posts, or searching for insects, frogs, fish and crustaceans in the shallows or nearby grasslands.
Voice: harsh croaks.
Little Pied Cormorant Streamlined fishing bird with black wings and back, white underside and short yellow bill. Often seen at wetlands and along the Darebin Creek.
Voice: short croak.
Sacred Kingfisher
Small colourful bird, the same shape as a Kookaburra, dwelling in riparian zones along the creek. Kingfishers can be seen diving in to water in search of food. They nest in small hollows and crevices in trees and creek banks.
Voice: high-pitched whistles when disturbed.
Further Reading
Simpson and Day, (1996) Field Guide to the Birds of Australia, Viking
Warringal Conservation Society, (1981) Birds of the Heidelberg and Yarra Valley, WCS, Rosanna
Bird List of the Darebin Creek Catchment
The following list shows some of the species that you may be able to spot around the Darebin Creek Catchment.
* indicates an introduced species.
Raptors –Diurnal Birds Of Prey
Australian Hobby (Little Falcon) Falco longipennis
Black-shouldered Kite Elanus axillaris
Brown Falcon Falco berigora
Brown Goshawk Accipter fasciatus
Collared Sparrowhawk Accipter cirrhocephalus
Little Eagle Hieraaetus morphnoides
Nankeen Kestrel Falco cenchroides
Peregrine Falcon Falco peregrinus
Swamp Harrier Circus approximans
Wedge-tailed Eagle Aquila audax
Whistling Kite Haliastur (Milvus) sphenurus
Waterbirds – most common around waterways and wetlands.
Australasian Grebe Tachybaptus novaehollandiae
Australian Pelican Pelecanus conspicillatus
Australian White (Sacred) Ibis
Threskiorniss molucca
Australian Wood (Maned) Duck Chenonetta jubata
Black Swan Cygnus atratus
Blue-billed Duck Oxyura australis
Cattle Egret Ardea ibis
Chestnut Teal Anas castanea
Darter Anhinga melanogaster
Dusky Moorhen Gallinula tenebrosa
Eurasian Coot Fulica atra
Great Cormorant Phalacrocorax carbo
Great Egret Ardea alba
Hardhead (White-eyed Duck) Aythya australis
Hoary-headed Grebe
Poliocephalus poliocephalus
Little Black Cormorant Phalacrocorax sulcirostris
Little Pied Cormorant Phalacrocorax melanoleucos
Nankeen (Rufous) Night Heron
Nycticorax caledonicus
Pacific Black Duck Anas superciliosa
Pacific Heron Ardea pacifica
Pied Cormorant Phalacrocorax varius
Pink-eared Duck Malacorhynchus membranaceus
Purple Swamphen Porphyyrio porphyrio
Straw-necked Ibis Threskiornis spinicollis
White-faced Heron Egretta novaehollandiae
Diurnal Birds – most active during the day
Australian Magpie Gymnorhina tibicen
Bell Miner Manorina melanophrys
Black –faced Cuckoo-shrike Coracina novaehollandiae
Black-faced Woodswallow Artamus cinereus
Bronzewing Pigeon Phaps chalcoptera
Brown Quail Coturnix ypsilophora
Brush Wattlebird Anthochaera chrysoptera
Buff-banded Rail Gallriallus philippensis
Common Myna* Acridotheres tristis
Common Blackbird* Turdus merula
Common Starling* Sturnus vulgaris
Crested Pigeon Ocyphaps (Geophaps) lophotes
Crested Shrike-tit Falcunculus frontatus
Crimson Rosella Platycercus caledonicus
Dollarbird Eurystomus orientalis
Dusky Wood swallow Artamus cyanopterus
Eastern Rosella Platycercus elegans
Eastern Spinebill Acanthorhyncus tenuirostris
European Goldfinch Carduelis carduelis
European Greenfinch Carduelis chloris
Fan-tailed Cuckoo Cuculus flabelliformis
Flame Robin Petroica phoenicea
Galah Elophus (Cacatua) roseicapilla
Gang-Gang Cockatoo Callocephalon fimbriatum
Golden-headed Cisticola Cisticola exilis
Golden Whistler Pachycephala pectoralis
Grey Currawong Strepera versicolor
Grey Butcherbird Cracticus torquatis
Grey Fantail Rhipidura fuliginosa
Grey Shrike-thrush Colluricincla harmonica
Horsfield’s Bronze-Cuckoo Chrysococcyx basalis
House Sparrow* Passer domesticus
Kookaburra Dacelo novaguineae
Little Lorikeet Glossopsitta pusilla
Little Raven Corvus mellori
Little (Brush) Wattlebird Anthochaera chrysoptera
Little (Yellow) Thornbill Acanthiza nana
Long billed Corella Cacatua sanguinea
Magpie-lark Grallina cyanoleuca
Masked Lapwing (Spurwinged Plover) Vanellus miles
Mistletoebird Dicaeum hirundinaceum
Musk Lorikeet Glossopsitta concinna
New Holland Honeyeater Philidonyrus novaehollandiae
Noisy Miner Manorina melanocephala
Olive-backed Oriole Oriolus sagittatus
Pallid Cuckoo Cuculus pallidus
Pied Currawong Strepera graculina
Richard’s Pipit Anthus novaeseelandiae
Rainbow Lorikeet Trichoglossus haematodus
Red-browed Finch (Firetail) Neochima temporalis
Red-rumped Parrot Psephotus hamematonotus
Red Wattlebird Anthochaera carunculata
Sacred Kingfisher Todriamphus sanctus
Scaly-breasted Lorikeet Trichoglossus chlorolepidotus
Scarlet Robin Petroica multicolor
Silvereye (Grey-backed) Zosterops lateralis
Song Thrush* Turdus philomelos
Speckled Warbler Chthonicola (Sericirnis) brunneus
Spotted pardalote Pardalotus puctatus
Sulphur-crested Cockatoo Cacatua galerita
Superb Fairy-wren Malurus cyaneus
Welcome Swallow Hirundo neoxena
White-browed Scrubwren Sericornis frontalis
White-plumed Honeyeater Lichenostomus ornatus
White-throated Needletail (Spine-tailed Swift) Hirundapus caudacutus
Willie Wagtail Rhipidura leucophys
Yellow (Eastern) Robin Eopsaltria australis
Yellow-rumped Thornbill Acanthiza chrysorrhoa
Yellow-tailed Black Cockatoo Calyptorhynchus funereus
Nocturnal Birds – most active at night
Barn Owl Tyto alba
Boobook Owl Ninox novaeseelandiae
Powerful Owl Ninox strenua
Tawny Frogmouth Podargus strigo |