Common water birds around Sydney - PART 2 |
|
|
 |
This Egret has caught a fish in a Sydney pond |
|
Purple Swamphen
Porphyrio porphyrio
The bright plumage and big feet on these birds make a big impression the first time you see them. They eat frogs, molluscs and reed stems and with those giant long toes can sometimes be seen walking on the leaves of water lilies. Surprisingly, for birds with such long toes, they run really well. |
|
Dusky Moorhen
Gullinula tenebrosa
I used to mistake these for Purple Swamphens. But these birds are smaller and their beaks are different too. The really young ones look like long-haired black tennis balls — crazy-cute. I hear the young ones before I see them, and then often spot them walking among the water lilies. |
|
Darter
Anhinga melanogaster
These birds don't have water-repellant feathers. This means that after being in the water they have to stand with their wings out to dry, like in the photo at left. But it also means they swim underwater really well. This is a fairly big bird that often just pokes its head out of the water — the rest being submerged. It gives them the appearance of a snake, which is why some people call them snake birds. They eat fish. More info here |
|
Egret
Ardea species
A very regal-looking bird with a crazy-long skinny neck. I'll come right out and say these egrets look pretty much the same to me. Amazingly beautiful, definitely, but hard to tell apart. In case you're wondering what I mean, there's the Great Egret and the Little Egret. And there's an intermediate one called the Intermediate Egret. Now, the Little Egret sometimes hangs around cattle, as does another type called the Cattle Egret. So I admit I'm not good with egrets, but at least I can tell them from the cattle. They eat fish and insects. |
|
Maned Duck (or Wood Duck)
Chenonetta jubata
That's the female on the left, and the male on the right. The male has a cute brown mane on the back of its head. This bird is just as comfortable on land and among trees, as long as there's water somewhere nearby. They feed on some types of grass and seeds, with a real taste for rice. |
|
Eurasian Coot
Fulicia atra
A few of these guys swimming around makes a pleasant, calming scene. But watch a whole lot of them and you're likely to end up with a facial tic. These black and white birds create large floating flocks in a manner which looks confusing to me, but which obviously makes a lot of sense to the coots. Almost exclusively vegetarian, when it comes to breeding time these birds sometimes forget to play nice with other species. They've even been known to kill the occasional duckling. |
PAGE 1 | 2 | 3
navigation
|
Birds
Trees
Reptiles
|
|
Insects and spiders
Other stuff
|
|
