Birds and Animals of Australia's Top End: Darwin, Kakadu, Katherine, and Kununurra

273 Pages·2015·328.049 MB·English

by  Leseberg, Nick, Campbell, Iain

WWIILLDDGGuuiiddeess
Published by Princeton University Press,
41 William Street, Princeton, New Jersey 08540
In the United Kingdom: Princeton University Press, 6 Oxford Street,
Woodstock, Oxfordshire OX20 1TW
nathist.press.princeton.edu
Requests for permission to reproduce material from this work should be sent to
Permissions, Princeton University Press
First published 2015
Copyright © 2015 Nick Leseberg and Iain Campbell
Copyright in the photographs remains with the individual photographers.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a
retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical,
photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publishers.
British Library Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available
Library of Congress Control Number 2015930859
ISBN 978-0-691-16146-4
Production and design by WILDGuides Ltd., Old Basing, Hampshire UK.
Printed in China
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Contents
About this book ............................................................................................................. 7
How to use this book ..................................................................................................... 9
Maps of the Top End .................................................................................................... 10
Geography and geology of the Top End .................................................................... 12
Weather and seasons of the Top End ......................................................................... 14
Habitats of the Top End ............................................................................................... 16
Beaches and mudflats ................................................................................................... 16
Mangroves .................................................................................................................... 16
Rivers and billabongs .................................................................................................... 17
Freshwater wetlands and floodplains ............................................................................ 17
Monsoon forest ............................................................................................................. 18
Sandstone escarpments ................................................................................................ 18
Savanna woodlands ...................................................................................................... 19
How to watch wildlife .................................................................................................. 20
Equipment .................................................................................................................... 20
When to watch wildlife .................................................................................................. 20
Finding wildlife .............................................................................................................. 21
Watching nocturnal species .......................................................................................... 21
Where to find wildlife .................................................................................................. 22
Fogg Dam Conservation Reserve .................................................................................. 22
Gregory National Park ................................................................................................... 22
Kakadu National Park .................................................................................................... 23
Howard Springs Nature Park ......................................................................................... 23
Mataranka and Elsey National Park ................................................................................ 23
Nitmiluk National Park and Katherine Gorge ................................................................. 23
BIRDS OF WETLANDS AND BEACHES
Magpie Goose – Magpie Goose ....................................................................................... 26
Whistling-ducks – Wandering & Plumed Whistling-ducks ......................................................... 28
Shelduck, grebe and pygmy-goose
– Radjah Shelduck, Australasian Grebe and Green Pygmy-goose ................................................ 30
Ducks – Hardhead, Pacific Black Duck and Grey Teal ................................................................... 32
Stork – Black-necked Stork ................................................................................................... 34
Cormorants – Australian Pied, Little Pied, Little Black & Great Cormorants ...................................... 36
Darter and pelican – Australasian Darter and Australian Pelican ................................................ 38
White egrets – Plumed, Cattle, Great & Little Egrets .................................................................. 40
Dark herons – Great-billed, White-faced & Pied Herons and Pacific Reef-heron ................................ 42
Small herons – Rufous Night-heron, Striated Heron and Black Bittern ........................................... 44
Ibises and spoonbill – Australian, Straw-necked & Glossy Ibises and Royal Spoonbill ...................... 46
Rails and crake – Chestnut & Buff-banded Rails and White-browed Crake .................................... 48
Swamphen and coot – Purple Swamphen and Common Coot ............................................... 50
Crane and stone-curlew – Brolga and Beach Stone-curlew ................................................... 52
Stilt and oystercatchers – Pied & Sooty Oystercatchers and Black-winged Stilt ........................... 54
Lapwing and jacana – Masked Lapwing and Comb-crested Jacana .......................................... 56
Small plovers and turnstone
– Black-fronted and Red-kneed Dotterels, Red-capped Plover and Ruddy Turnstone .......................58
Coastal plovers – Grey & Pacific Golden Plovers and Greater & Lesser Sandplovers ......................... 60
‘Grassy plains’ waders – Australian and Oriental Pratincoles, Oriental Plover and Little Curlew ....... 62
Large sandpipers – Far Eastern Curlew, Whimbrel and Bar-tailed Godwit .................................... 64
Medium-sized sandpipers – Common Greenshank, Great & Red Knots and Grey-tailed Tattler ...... 66
‘Coastal' small sandpipers – Sanderling, Red-necked Stint and Curlew & Terek Sandpipers .......... 68
Other small sandpipers – Marsh, Common & Sharp-tailed Sandpipers .................................... 70
Gull + Large terns: 1 – Silver Gull and Caspian Tern ............................................................... 72
Large terns: 2 – Greater Crested, Lesser Crested & Gull-billed Terns ............................................ 74
Small terns – Whiskered, White-winged & Little Terns .............................................................. 76
Kingfishers – Azure and Little Kingfishers .............................................................................. 78
RAPTORS
Osprey + Kites: 1 – Osprey and Brahminy Kite .................................................................... 82
Sea-eagle and baza – White-bellied Sea-eagle and Pacific Baza ............................................. 84
Eagle and buzzard – Wedge-tailed Eagle and Black-breasted Buzzard ..................................... 86
Kites: 2 – Black & Whistling Kites .......................................................................................... 88
Goshawks – Brown, Grey & Red Goshawks ............................................................................ 90
Falcons – Brown & Peregrine Falcons, Australian Hobby and Nankeen Kestrel .................................. 92
BIRDS OF THE FOREST
Scrubfowl – Orange-footed Scrubfowl ................................................................................ 96
Dove and imperial-pigeon – Brown-capped Emerald Dove and Torresian Imperial-pigeon ....... 98
Fruit-doves – Black-banded & Rose-crowned Fruit-doves ...................................................... 100
Cuckoos – Brush Cuckoo and Little Bronze-cuckoo ................................................................ 102
Owl and nightjar – Rufous Owl and Large-tailed Nightjar .................................................... 104
Pitta – Rainbow Pitta ....................................................................................................... 106
Kingfisher, white-eye and honeyeater
– Collared Kingfisher, Australian Yellow White-eye and Red-headed Honeyeater ........................... 108
Gerygones and triller
– Green-backed, Large-billed & Mangrove Gerygones and Varied Triller ...................................... 110
Shrike-thrush and whistlers – Mangrove Golden & Grey Whistlers and Little Shrike-thrush .... 112
Orioles and fantails – Australasian Figbird, Green Oriole and Northern & Arafura Fantails ........... 114
Butcherbird, drongo and flycatchers
– Spangled Drongo, Black Butcherbird and Broad-billed & Shining Flycatchers ............................. 116
Robins – Buff-sided & Mangrove Robins .............................................................................. 118
4
BIRDS OF OPEN AREAS
Bustard – Australian Bustard . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 122
Stone-curlew – Bush Stone-curlew ................................................................................. 124
Coucal and quail – Pheasant Coucal and Brown Quail ........................................................ 126
Cuckoos – Australian Koel and Channel-billed Cuckoo ............................................................ 128
Pigeons: 1 – Common Bronzewing, Crested Pigeon and Spinifex Pigeon .................................... 130
Pigeons: 2 – Chestnut-quilled Rock-pigeon and Partridge Pigeon ............................................. 132
Doves – Peaceful, Bar-shouldered & Diamond Doves ............................................................... 134
Owls – Barking Owl and Southern Boobook .......................................................................... 136
Barn-owl and frogmouth – Eastern Barn-owl and Tawny Frogmouth ................................. 138
Owlet-nightjar and nightjar – Australian Owlet-nightjar and Spotted Nightjar .................... 140
Kingfishers – Blue-winged Kookaburra and Forest & Sacred Kingfishers .................................... 142
Bee-eater and Dollarbird – Rainbow Bee-eater and Dollarbird ......................................... 144
Black-cockatoo and Cockatiel – Red-tailed Black-cockatoo and Cockatiel ......................... 146
Cockatoos – Galah, Little Corella and Sulphur-crested Cockatoo ............................................... 148
Lorikeets – Red-collared & Varied Lorikeets ......................................................................... 150
Parrots: 1 – Northern Rosella and Red-winged Parrot ............................................................. 152
Parrots: 2 – Hooded Parrot ............................................................................................. 154
Bowerbird – Great Bowerbird ......................................................................................... 156
Fairywrens – Purple-crowned, Red-backed & Variegated Fairywrens . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 158
Grasswren – White-throated Grasswren ............................................................................. 160
Small honeyeaters – Banded, Brown & Dusky Honeyeaters ................................................. 162
Medium-sized honeyeaters: 1
– Rufous-banded, Rufous-throated, White-gaped & Yellow-tinted Honeyeaters ............................ 164
Medium-sized honeyeaters: 2
– Black-chinned, White-throated Honeyeater, Bar-breasted & White-lined Honeyeaters .................. 166
Large honeyeaters – Blue-faced Honeyeater and Helmeted, Silver-crowned & Little Friarbirds ..... 168
Miner, pardalote and Weebill – Yellow-throated Miner, Striated Pardalote and Weebill ......... 170
Babbler and woodswallows
– Grey-crowned Babbler and Black-faced, Little & White-breasted Woodswallows ......................... 172
Cuckooshrikes, triller and gerygone
– Black-faced & White-bellied Cuckooshrikes, White-winged Triller and White-throated Gerygone ..... 174
Sitella, shrike-tit and treecreeper
– Varied Sitella, Crested Shrike-tit and Black-tailed Treecreeper ................................................. 176
Whistler and shrike-thrushes – Rufous Whistler and Grey & Sandstone Shrike-thrushes ........ 178
Butcherbirds, magpie and oriole
– Pied & Grey Butcherbirds, Australasian Magpie and Olive-backed Oriole ................................... 180
Willie-wagtail and Magpie-lark – Willie-wagtail and Magpie-lark ................................... 182
Flycatchers and robin – Leaden, Paperbark & Lemon-bellied Flycatchers and Jacky Winter ........ 184
Crow, Apostlebird, bushlark and cisticola
– Torresian Crow, Apostlebird, Australasian Bushlark and Golden-headed Cisticola ........................ 186
Martins and Mistletoebird – Tree & Fairy Martins and Mistletoebird .................................. 188
Finches: 1 – Crimson, Double-barred & Star Finches .............................................................. 190
Finches: 2 – Gouldian, Long-tailed & Masked Finches ............................................................ 192
Mannikins – Chestnut-breasted, Pictorella & Yellow-rumped Mannikins ..................................... 194 5
MAMMALS
Echidna – Short-beaked Echidna ....................................................................................... 198
Quoll and phascogale – Northern Quoll and Northern Brush-tailed Phascogale ..................... 200
Bandicoot + Possums: 1 – Northern Brown Bandicoot and Common Brushtail Possum ........... 202
Possums: 2 + Sugar Glider – Rock Ringtail Possum and Sugar Glider ................................. 204
Wallabies – Agile & Northern Nailtail Wallabies .................................................................... 206
Wallaroos: 1 – Antilopine & Common Wallaroos .................................................................. 208
Wallaroos: 2 + Rock-wallabies
– Black Wallaroo and Wilkin's & Short-eared Rock-wallabies ..................................................... 210
Flying-foxes – Black & Little Red Flying-foxes ...................................................................... 212
Microbats – Ghost, Yellow-bellied Sheath-tailed & Orange Leaf-nosed Bats ................................. 214
Rodents – Black-footed Tree-rat and Water & Common Rock Rats .............................................. 216
Dingo and Water Buffalo – Dingo and Water Buffalo ...................................................... 218
REPTILES AND AMPHIBIANS
Crocodiles: 1 – Estuarine Crocodile ................................................................................. 222
Crocodiles: 2 + Turtles: 1
– Freshwater Crocodile and Northern Long-necked & Northern Yellow-faced Turtles ...................... 224
Turtles: 2 + Geckos: 1 – Northern Snapping & Pig-nosed Turtles and Asian House Gecko ........... 226
Geckos: 2 – Bynoe's & Banded Prickly Geckos and Northern & Northern Spotted Dtellas ................. 228
Geckos: 3 – Northern Knob-tailed, Northern Spiny-tailed Gecko & Marbled Velvet Geckos . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 230
Geckos: 4 + Snake-lizard – Giant Cave Gecko and Burton's Snake-lizard .............................. 232
Skinks – Top End Fire-tailed & Eastern Striped Skinks and Red-sided & Slender Rainbow-skinks .......... 234
Lizards: 1 – Common Blue-tongue and Gilbert's Dragon ......................................................... 236
Lizards: 2 – Frilled Lizard and Sand Goanna ......................................................................... 238
Lizards: 3 + Snakes: 1 – Merten's Water Monitor and Children's Python ................................ 240
Snakes: 2 – Olive & Water Pythons .................................................................................... 242
Snakes: 3 – Black-headed & Oenpelli Pythons ...................................................................... 244
Snakes: 4 – Carpet Python and Brown Tree Snake ................................................................. 246
Snakes: 5 – Green Tree Snake and Taipan ............................................................................ 248
Snakes: 6 – Mulga Snake, Northern Brown Snake and Northern Death Adder ............................... 250
Snakes: 7 – Keelback and Arafura File Snake ........................................................................ 252
Frogs: 1 – Green Tree, Red Tree & Roth's Tree Frogs ................................................................. 254
Frogs: 2 – Giant Frog, Northern Dwarf Tree Frog and Rocket Frog ............................................... 256
Frogs: 3 – Masked, Rockhole, Copland's Rock & Dahl's Aquatic Frogs ........................................... 258
Frogs: 4 – Marbled & Ornate Burrowing Frogs and Northern Spadefoot Toad ................................ 260
Frogs: 5 – Pale & Peter's Frogs and Cane Toad ....................................................................... 262
Further reading .......................................................................................................... 264
Acknowledgements .................................................................................................. 264
Photo credits .............................................................................................................. 265
Index ........................................................................................................................... 267
Short index ............................................................................................ Inside back cover
Bush Thick-knee 6
About this book
The Top End is justly famous for its natural beauty. From towering sandstone
escarpments and rugged gorges to peaceful billabongs and open savannas, visitors to
this most beautiful part of Australia can experience some of the most spectacular yet
serene landscapes found anywhere in Australia. There is a sense of time that exists in
the Top End that is more palpable than anywhere else in Australia, and also a proximity
to nature that is replicated in only a handful of other locations. This ancient landscape
and the proximity to nature are just two reasons why the Top End is such a popular
tourist destination. The wide variety of habitats supports an equally diverse assortment
of wildlife –and perhaps more than anywhere else in Australia wildlife is an integral
component of the Top End experience. After all, who is going to visit the Top End
without trying to see a crocodile?
Luckily, much of the Top End’s wildlife is quite easy to observe, with wildlife-watching
the focus of some of the region’s most popular tourist attractions. But you do not have
to be on a boat or part of an organized tour to enjoy the Top End’s wonderful wildlife.
The independent traveller who keeps an eye out will be surprised how much wildlife
can be found – from the ubiquitous Black Kites and Whistling Kites soaring over the
highway, to the friendly Agile Wallabies lounging in the shade at your campground.
Your enjoyment of the Top End’s abundant wildlife, or wildlife anywhere, will be
significantly enhanced if you know what you are looking at. Knowing what you have
found opens up a new world, allowing you to delve into the fascinating natural histories
of the many creatures that make the Top End their home, including where they live and
how they survive. Did you know that Estuarine Crocodiles are the largest living reptile
in the world, that they can live for up to 100 years, or that they may not eat for months
at a time?
The primary aim of this book is to set you on the path of learning, not just by helping
you identify the Top End’s wildlife but also by giving you an introduction to the unique
biology of these remarkable creatures. The book covers most of the birds you can
expect to find, along with a selection of the mammals, reptiles and frogs you are likely
to come across during your travels. For each species there is a photo, along with some
information on how to identify it, how to tell it apart from any similar species, where
you might find it and interesting information on that animal’s natural history.
Ultimately, we hope this book is only a starting point. We can only cover a fraction of
the vast amount of knowledge out there on the many wonderful creatures found across
the Top End. It may be that your trip to this wonderful part of Australia kick-starts a
lifelong interest in nature. Perhaps the thrill of identifying your first bird from the pages
of this book leaves you wanting to do it again. If nothing else, we hope that recognizing
and reading about some of the amazing creatures you might see on your travels helps
you enjoy this spectacular part of Australia just that little bit more.
7
How to use this book
There are plenty of fantastic books available which can help you identify all of the birds,
mammals, reptiles and frogs that you may come across in the Top End. However, most
of these books are aimed at the already experienced wildlife enthusiast, who may visit
the Top End for the sole purpose of searching out some of these obscure creatures. Their
complicated text, plethora of illustrations and often large size (because they may cover the
entire country), can be confusing for the more casual wildlife-watcher who may not know
where to start when confronted with 900 possibilities for the bird they have just seen!
The purpose of this book is to focus both on those species you are likely to see in the
Top End, and those with interesting natural history, in a way that is accessible to the
novice wildlife-watcher. By doing that, it has been possible to produce a book that
is small enough to carry around with you, or put in your day-pack or hand-bag, so
that you can look up the animals you come across, or read about those found in the
area you are visiting. Most species are illustrated with large, clear photos that will
make identification easy. The text aims to be simple and informative, and to provide a
summary of how to identify each species, where you might find it, its ecology – how it
survives – and what makes it interesting.
Because the aim is to cover species likely to be seen by the average wildlife-watcher,
there are many species that are not covered. A good example is the multitude of small
reptiles you might see scurrying off the trail, or the many species of small microbats that
are often seen fluttering around after dark. Identifying many of these animals requires
them to be caught in order to count scales, measure wing-lengths or analyze some other
obscure diagnostic feature. Getting into this level of detail can be great fun and will be
the next step in your wildlife-watching pursuits. If you want to identify some of these
animals, the books in the Further reading section (page 264) will help you do so. But be
careful – this can become addictive!
The animals in this book are arranged into four basic groups – birds, mammals, reptiles
and frogs – with each of those groups broken down further into sub-groups of similar
animals. This classification of animals is a scientifically complicated process, and plenty
of academics spend their entire careers trying to work out which animals fit into which
groups. Generally, species that are similar to each other appear on adjacent pages,
enabling you to compare them as you try to figure out what you have seen. This is a little
more difficult for birds, as there are so many of them that you may have to do a bit of
flicking – but, to help, the species are shown in separate sections that indicate the broad
habitat types in which they are found. In addition, similar species are highlighted in the
text, and, where appropriate, cross-referenced to the relevant page in the book.
To help you find as much of the Top End’s wildlife as possible, we have also included
a small section on some of the best wildlife-watching spots. Of course the list is not
exhaustive as there is wildlife everywhere, but it may give you some ideas about where
to see certain species, or may prompt you to keep an eye out for something particular as
you are out and about on the tourist trail.
8
Each species account provides some general information about its status and
distribution in the Top End, an indication of its habitat preferences, a brief description
and if necessary notes on how to identify it, and, where appropriate, interesting facts
about its ecology; for similar species on the same page this discussion may be combined.
In most cases, guidance is given on where to find the species and, for many, specific
locations to look.
Finally, there can be some confusion about the common name of some species,
particularly for birds. Different organizations put out lists of common names, and
sometimes cannot even agree on whether an animal is a species in its own right, or
a subspecies of a different animal. This often results in some animals having a
different name, depending on the organization. A good example is the well-known
Bush Stone-curlew, which is often called Bush Thick-knee. Where there is an
alternative name that is commonly used, this is included in the text.
Varied Lorikeet
9