The Rufous-crowned Sparrow is a small American sparrow. This bird is found mostly across South-western USA and Mexico. Populations of this bird are often isolated from each other. This bird has a brown back with darker streaks and grey underparts. It has a rufous crown and a grey face. The A. r. eremoeca There are
Also known as a Banksian, Banks, or Black Cockatoo, the Red-tailed Black Cockatoo is a bird that is native to Australia. They are commonly found in the drier parts of Australia. There are 5 subspecies recognised, though the most significant characteristic are the sizes of their beaks. Cool Crest! Out of the 5 subspecies of
A member of the fairywren family is the White-winged Fairywren. It was forst collected in 1818 on Louis de Freycinet’s voyage around the Southern Hemisphere by the French Naturalists, Jean Rene Constant Quoy and Joseph Paul Gaimard. Unfortunately the specimen was actually lost in a shipwreck but a painting by Jacques Arago, Mérion leucoptère, survived.
The Variegated Fairywren is a type of fairywren that can be found in many diverse habitats all over Australia. There are 4 subspecies recognised, and there is a high degree of sexual dimorphism. It was officially scientifically described by Nicholas Aylward Vigors and Thomas Horsfield in 1827. It was originally thought to be a colour
A large cockatoo which is native to south-east Australia is the Yellow-tailed Black Cockatoo. This bird was first described by George Shaw in 1794, and its specific name is related to the its dark and sombre plumage as if one was dressed for a funeral. In fact, the famous Orinthologist, John Gould, referred to this
The Northern Gannet is a seabird and it is the largest member of the gannet family. Its old names include the Solant Bird, Solan, and the Solan Goose. It was first described scientifically by Carolus Linnaeus in 1758. Northern Gannets are agile fliers When the Northern Gannets are young, they are ark brown in the
The Rock Martin is a small bird that is a member of the swallow family. It is a resident of Africa as well as south-western Asia as east as Pakistan. This bird is part of the swallow family It was first formally scientifically described by Martin Lichtenstein in 1842 as Hirundo fuligula. However, Heinrich Gustav
The White-breasted Nuthatch is a small songbird that belongs to the nuthatch family which is found in temperate North America. This bird was first scientifically described by John Latham in 1780, in his work, Index Orinthologicus. A White-breasted Nuthatch going down a tree The White-breasted Nuthatch has a large head, short wings and a short
A small passerine bird that is native to Australia is the Red-capped Robin. It was first described in 1827 by Thomas Horsfield and Nicholas Aylward Vigors. Their specimens were found in the northern Spencer Gulf (now South Australia). Its epithet, goodenovii, is named after Rev. Samuel Goodenough who was the Bishop of Carlisle and the
Also known as the Long-toed Pigeon or the Madeira Laurel Pigeon, the Trocaz Pigeon is a pigeon that is endemic to the island of Madeira. A Trocaz Pigeon spotted in Madeira in 2008 It was first formally described by a German Doctor and Orinthologist, Karl Heineken, in 1829. Heineken was living on Madeira and he
The Splendid Fairywren, also known as a Blue Wren of a Splended Wren, is a passerine bird belonging to the Maluridae family. It is one of 12 species in the genus Malurus which is found in Australia and New Guinea. The nominate species of the Splendid Fairywren In 1830, the specimens were initially collected at
The Red-winged Fairywren is a passerine bird species that belongs to the Maluridae family. It is endemic to the south-west corner of Western Australia. This bird was first described scientifically by John Gould in 1837. A male red-winged fairywren This bird is one of the largest fairywrens. It is 15 cm long and weighs about
Racey’s pipistrelle bat is a type of bat from Madagascar. It was first recorded as a species in 1905 by Thomas and Schwann, but was only formally named in 2006 by Bates, Ratrimomanarivo, Harrison, and Goodman. This bat was named after Professor Paul Racey who is the Regius Chair of Natural History at the University
The family, Procellariidae, is a group of seabirds that comprise of shearwaters, prions, gadfly petrels, and fulmarine petrels. They are the most abundant and most diverse family of tubenoses which range in size from giant petrels which are almost as big as albatrosses, to as small as prions which are as small as larger storm
The Blue-faced Honeyeater also known as a Bananabird is a bird that belongs to the Honeyeater family. It is the only member of its genus, and there are 3 subspecies that have been recognised. These birds are found in southern New Guinea and northern and eastern Australia. An adult Blue-faced Honeyeater The 3 subspecies are:
