Canberra Ornithologists Group

17/08/2026

https://theconversation.com/from-the-coasts-to-the-plains-bird-flu-could-threaten-not-just-birds-but-their-homes-289709?utm_medium=article_native_share&utm_source=theconversation.com

From raucous honeyeaters to top predators, Australia’s birds are vital to nature.

01/08/2026

Can you Find August’s Bird of the Month? The Yellow-rumped Thornbill

The Yellow-rumped Thornbill is the one species of thornbill which you are likely to see around the streets of Canberra. It commonly feeds on the ground and often the first you know of it is a whirring flock of 3-8 small birds with bright yellow rumps flying away from you.

What to look for:

A tiny bird, only 11cm in length. Look for a bold eye stripe, the bright yellow rump of course, and a black crown spotted with white. The bill is relatively long and sharp - good for catching insects; they are primarily insectivorous although they also feed on seeds. At just 9g, this is one of our smaller passerines (perching birds) and sadly often falls prey to domestic cats.

The Yellow-rumped Thornbill builds a 'double nest', laying its eggs in an enclosed woven dome of grasses, but having a 'false' nest on top-possibly an attempt to avoid parasitism by cuckoos. Yellow-rumped Thornbills also occasionally practise cooperative breeding, where multiple non-parental adults help with nest building and raising the young. While relatively common in Australia, cooperative breeding is believed to be practised by only 4-9% of the world's bird species.

Similar Species: There are 4 other species of thornbills that occur in Canberra, so if you see a bird that looks a bit like the Yellow-rumped Thornbill, but isn’t quite right, you might consider one of those, or the Weebill. The small passerines can be a bit confusing if you’re just getting into birding, which is why we started with this species as if you get a good look at it, it is pretty unmistakeable. Canberra Birds member, Anthony Overs gave this excellent presentation on "how to identify thornbills" at one of our meetings in 2025 https://www.facebook.com/reel/778064367392461

Voice: This species is quite vocal, with various sweet twitterings. Have a listen to the eBird recordings and you’ll see what I mean.🙂

Where to Look
The Yellow-rumped Thornbill is found primarily at ground level, making it one of our easier Thornbills to observe. It is generally found in open habitats, be those woodlands, or more modified urban habitats such as along bike paths, roads, and parks. As such, it is relatively common throughout Canberra the whole year round.

Zoom into this eBird species map to find places to see Yellow-rumped Thornbill and for sound recordings https://ebird.org/species/yertho1

And finally, what's in a name?
Ian Fraser and Jeannie Gray’s delightful book Australian Bird Names gives a bit of background to the Yellow-rumped Thornbill’s scientific name Acanthiza chrysorrhoa.

Acanthiza - thornbush dweller, acantheon - a thornbush, zao-to live on or off something. The Greeks used a similar word for a finch.
chrysorrhoa from the greek khrusos/khruso-gold/golden orrhus-rump

Put it together, and you have: the “golden rumped thornbush dweller” an apt name as you can see from one of the photos included in this post!


Photo Tobias Hayashi


Photo Lindsay Hansch

Small bird with thin pointed bill. Noticeably larger than other Australian thornbills. Blackish tail and bright yellow rump distinctive. Some variation in plumage occurs across range. Inhabits a wide variety of habitats, including agricultural areas. Usually seen in small flocks and feeds mostly on....

01/08/2026

This not-so-well-camouflaged Tawny Frogmouth appeared on a Campbell water tank early one morning recently.

Tawny Frogmouths are nocturnal, spending the night hunting before settling into a safe daytime roost - usually low on a tree trunk or branch, where their camouflage helps them blend seamlessly into the bark.

A suburban water tank didn't seem like the ideal place to spend the day, so we asked other Canberra birders how it might have ended up there.

The consensus was that it had probably been chased from its preferred morning roost - perhaps by currawongs, Noisy Miners or ravens. In making its escape, it likely landed on the tank as a temporary refuge.

After an hour or so, the Tawny seemed to realise, "This isn't the place for me," and flew into a nearby tree, where it immediately became much harder to spot.

In the photos, you can see how its mottled silver and brown plumage blends beautifully with the tree bark. While it isn't showing the classic "sphinx pose" with narrow slit-like eyes, its rigid posture and elongated, compressed feathers still make it an excellent match for its surroundings.

11/07/2026

28/06/2026

Can you Find July’s Bird of the Month? Satin Bowerbird

A bit of a change of pace compared to our May and June birds of the month, the Satin Bowerbird is a larger blue-eyed beauty. While primarily rainforest birds, in autumn and winter most Satin Bowerbirds move west out of the ranges and congregate in larger flocks, often feeding in more open country. The family “bowerbirds” is named after the habit of the males building elaborate ‘bowers’ to woo females and persuade them to mate. In the case of the Satin Bowerbird, the bower consists of two opposing rows of curved twigs which forms an “open” tunnel, surrounded by artistically arranged blue objects (see photo). They really are spectacular! Once mating occurs, the male has no further interest in the female who builds her own nest in a tree and becomes a single parent.

What to Look For
At 32 cm, the Satin Bowerbird is smaller than a Magpie, but larger than a Magpie-lark (peewit). The male when viewed in good light is unmistakable, a rather stocky bird, with a glossy blue-black plumage all over and a contrasting short, straight, pale bill. Females and immature males are similar shaped, but the overall impression is a greenish/brown bird, with extensive scalloping on the underparts. I’m being deliberately vague, as the males don’t reach full maturity until they are about 6 years (!), and the tones of their plumages vary considerably. Females and immatures are still beautiful, just harder to describe. Look for them hopping or walking on the ground, or perched in trees or shrubs.

Where to Look
At this time of year, gardens, parks, and woodlands, particularly on the western side of Canberra: think Chapman, Kambah, Curtin, Banks etc. Ten years ago you wouldn’t have seen them in Belconnen, but they are now well established in winter there. They are almost totally absent in Gungahlin, and still a highly unusual occurrence in suburbs such as Hackett and Watson. They are clearly expanding their range in a NE direction and being well adapted to city life, will likely colonise Gungahlin in the not too distant future.

Voice
Satin bowerbirds are often quite vocal, having a wide range of loud calls variously described as buzzing, whirring, whistling, rattling and these are often a good tip-off that birds are in the area. Again refer to Satin Bowerbird - eBird or similar for recordings.

And finally, what's in a name?
Ian Fraser and Jeannie Gray’s delightful book Australian Bird Names gives a bit of background to the Satin Bowerbird’s scientific name Ptilonorhynchus violaceus.

From ancient Greek:
Ptilonorhynchus
ptilon -feather or down
rhunkos -bill
Literally “feather-bill”. A great descriptor as if you get a really good look at the birds, you’ll notice a small tuft of feathers that extends down from the forehead over the bill.

From Latin
Violaceus- violet coloured, for obvious reasons.
So, there’s your challenge for this month’s bird, get a good enough look at a Satin Bowerbird so you can notice the tuft of feathers over its bill 🙂

Photo credits: Helen Farrow and James Rolevink

17/06/2026

May Field trip report - Bruce Ridge and Gossan Hill

Fourteen new and not-so-new Canberra birders met at CIT Bruce on a warm, sunny morning after a couple of days of drizzly rain.

We crossed the road into Bruce Ridge and immediately noticed several Australian Wood Ducks in the trees, along with Sulphur-crested Cockatoos and Galahs. The search for hollows seems to be in full swing, with both rosella species and Rainbow Lorikeets also surveying the available real estate ahead of the nesting season. Most of us heard Yellow-tailed Black- Cockatoos, but few managed to see them through the trees.

We crossed to Gossan Hill on the other side of Haydon Drive, and soon came upon a group of Double-barred Finches. We watched these birds for some time, as they gradually moved along the edge of the reserve. Red-browed Finches were much more elusive, but we eventually managed to see four of them. A single Scarlet Robin drew our attention back in the bushes, but it flew immediately. A couple of Golden Whistlers showed nicely, as did White-throated Treecreepers next to the track.

Our route was cut short to avoid some large groups of school students, and it was surprising to see very few parrots on Gossan Hill.

Image credit: Double-barred Finch, Sandra Henderson

15/06/2026

A medium-sized glossy black bird with a distinctive forked “fish-tail” tail captured the attention of many Canberra birders last month.

An immature Spangled Drongo was first found at Nadjung Mada Nature Reserve on 3 May and stayed until at least 19 May - a remarkably long time for this species to stick around in Canberra.
The Spangled Drongo is considered a rare non-breeding vagrant, a coastal species regularly albeit sparsely recorded in the ACT since 2000.

It does raise the old question of how this bird managed to get here and from where it has come, with the nearest most recent bird spotted near Batemans Bay about 100km away over a year ago.

Any insights, Birders?

Image credit: James Churches