{"id":931863,"date":"2026-10-17T21:10:30","date_gmt":"2026-10-17T21:10:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/931863\/"},"modified":"2026-10-17T21:10:30","modified_gmt":"2026-10-17T21:10:30","slug":"colourful-photos-of-unique-species-show-why-darwin-is-known-as-the-city-of-birds","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/931863\/","title":{"rendered":"Colourful photos of unique species show why Darwin is known as the ‘city of birds’"},"content":{"rendered":"

Darwin is a self-proclaimed “city of birds” with everything from loud curlews to colourful finches, and even a rare all-black kookaburra, calling the region home.<\/p>\n

There are about 200 species of bush birds, and another 50 to 100 waterfowl, seabirds and shorebirds living in the Northern Territory’s Top End.<\/p>\n

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How stunning is this rainbow bee-eater? It was pictured in full flight on the outskirts of Darwin earlier this month. (Supplied: Matt Campbell)<\/p>\n

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These crimson finches were spotted at Fogg Dam, with their bright feathers attracting attention. (Supplied: Prashan Basnet)<\/p>\n

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While magpies aren’t common north of Katherine, magpie geese can be found in and around the greater Darwin region. (Supplied: Matt Campbell)<\/p>\n

Charles Darwin University ornithology researcher, John Woinarski, says the seasonal climate and sparse local population help make it a safe haven for many species that have been wiped out elsewhere.\u00a0<\/p>\n

“We share this environment with a whole range of birds that are distinctive, amusing, quirky, interesting, and sort of feel as if they themselves own the place,” Professor Woinarski says.<\/p>\n

“Compared to most other cities in Australia, they’re all native birds \u2014 there’s not the high densities of birds from Europe that characterise much of the rest of Australia.”<\/p>\n

Photographed at Victoria River, this purple-crowned fairy-wren is an endangered species. (Supplied: Jo Wu)<\/p>\n

Professor Woinarski believes the “in your face” nature of certain colourful and noisy species has also contributed to Darwin’s reputation as the “city of birds”.<\/p>\n

“I think there’s global recognition that this is a really interesting part of the world for birdwatchers, or for people interested in environment generally,” he says.<\/p>\n

“We’ve got the fortune that so many of these bird species and important sites for them fall on Indigenous lands, and ranger groups are really important for managing those lands.”<\/p>\n

From the dry red-dirt outback, to tropical wetlands and stone country in the World Heritage-protected Kakadu National Park, Professor Woinarski describes the Top End as a “fascinating patchwork of different sorts of habitats”.<\/p>\n

“If you were simply to listen to the bird soundscape of Darwin, you could tell what time of year [and season] it was,” he says.<\/p>\n

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John Woinarski describes the bush stone-curlew call as “uncanny” and “sort of eerie”, with some Territorians likening it to a baby’s cry. (Supplied: Georgina Barbour)<\/p>\n

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This chestnut-breasted mannikin was spotted at Adelaide River earlier this year, mid-snack. (Supplied: Georgina Barbour)<\/p>\n

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This unique blue-winged kookaburra has a genetic mutation that makes it more rare than an albino kookaburra. (Supplied: Paul Thomsen)<\/p>\n

In one very lucky rural Darwin backyard, an all-black blue-winged kookaburra \u2014 more rare than an albino kookaburra \u2014 has become a regular visitor.<\/p>\n

Professor Woinarski says it’s “quite an interesting find” that likely resulted from a mutation in the bird’s melanin levels. He describes the genetic anomaly as a total “fluke”.<\/p>\n

As citizen science project The Aussie Bird Count<\/a> kicks off this month, we’re taking a look at some of the whimsical species recently photographed across the Top End’s unique landscape.<\/p>\n

“It’s an ever-enticing game to try to continue to hone your bird identification skills \u2026 every bird that you come to understand gives a different perspective of the world,” Professor Woinarski says.<\/p>\n

“It’s a never-ending quest to try to understand nature and how wonderful it is.”<\/p>\n

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Photographed at Tumbling Waters, near Berry Springs, in September, this rose-crowned fruit dove shows off the stunning colours it is known for. (Supplied: Georgina Barbour)<\/p>\n

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This northern shriketit was spied near Katherine. (Supplied: Jo Wu)<\/p>\n

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You can understand how the yellow chat got its name, based on those bright feathers! (Supplied: Jo Wu)<\/p>\n

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Many of the bird species living in the Top End are recognisable for their brightly coloured feathers, like this little kingfisher. (Supplied: Prashan Basnet)<\/p>\n

The red-backed fairy-wren can be found in grasslands, swamps and areas with long grass. (Supplied: Prashan Basnet)<\/p>\n

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This varied lorikeet was spotted at Lee Point in September. (Supplied: Jo Wu)<\/p>\n

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A black-necked stork, also known as a jabiru, captured on camera while feeding in Top End wetlands. (Supplied: Matt Campbell)<\/p>\n

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A forest kingfisher, snapped in March while resting on a tree branch at Casuarina. (Supplied: Prashan Basnet)<\/p>\n

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This mangrove robin was spotted at Leanyer Swamp, in Darwin’s north. (Supplied: Georgina Barbour)<\/p>\n

A black kite cooling off in the water at Katherine Low Level Nature Reserve. (Supplied: Jo Wu)<\/p>\n

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Adelaide River, south of Darwin, is home to plenty of unique birds including this golden-headed cisticola. (Supplied: Georgina Barbour)<\/p>\n

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A whiskered tern, pictured in August this year as it shakes off water mid-flight at Knuckey Lagoon. (Supplied: Prashan Basnet)<\/p>\n

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John Woinarski says Darwinites have shown “extraordinary empathy” for the Gouldian finch, an endangered species that lives locally. (Supplied: Prashan Basnet)<\/p>\n

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This little bronze-cuckoo was photographed at Charles Darwin National Park in July. (Supplied: Prashan Basnet)<\/p>\n

A masked finch resting in Pine Creek, south of Darwin. (Supplied: Prashan Basnet)<\/p>\n

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How cute is this rufous whistler? (Supplied: Georgina Barbour)<\/p>\n

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A white-bellied sea eagle, pictured earlier this month at Buffalo Creek. (Supplied: Matt Campbell)<\/p>\n

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These azure kingfisher photos were captured at Casuarina, in Darwin’s northern suburbs. (Supplied: Prashan Basnet)<\/p>\n

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This beach stone-curlew was spotted at Buffalo Creek earlier this year. (Supplied: Jo Wu)<\/p>\n

Kakadu is home to a variety of unique bird species, including this nankeen night heron. (Supplied: Jo Wu)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Darwin is a self-proclaimed “city of birds” with everything from loud curlews to colourful finches, and even a…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":931864,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[22],"tags":[64,63,7248,498791,17702,498793,178200,498794,498792,75,37071,177088,172938,128],"class_list":["post-931863","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-environment","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-bird","tag-bird-watching","tag-birds","tag-birds-in-darwin","tag-birdwatching","tag-curlew","tag-darwin-birds","tag-environment","tag-finch","tag-kingfisher","tag-ornithology","tag-science"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/931863","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=931863"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/931863\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/931864"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=931863"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=931863"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=931863"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}