Black and white, with the pattern varying across its range. The back of its neck, upper tail and shoulders (on its wings) are white in males and grey in females, and (across most of Australia) the rest of its body is black. In south-eastern, central and south-western Australia, including Tasmania, its back and rump are entirely white. Its eye is red-brown. Young birds are usually grey rather than black and have dark eyes.
Distinctive feature
One toe faces backwards and three face forwards. It has a square-tipped tail.
Grey, grey-brown to olive green body with patches of cream. It has black bands running across its body and tail and a "crest" of spines which start on its head and extend down its back and along its tail. Its belly is creamy-white to creamy brown-grey and the larger, breeding males have a red-orange chest and throat. One of two subspecies also has a broad black stripe running from behind its eye to its ear. It has long, powerful legs and a long, strong tail with flattened sides to assist with swimming. There are loose folds of skin under its jaw.
Juveniles are light brown and their head and feet appear large for their body size.
Size
Around 80 - 90 cm long (nose to end of tail) two-thirds of which is tail. Males are bigger than females.
The caterpillar (larva) is initially pale yellow with fine hairs, before turning green. It has narrow yellow lines on its body which are sometimes hard to see. The upper side of the butterfly (adult) is white with a black tip on its forewing (front wing) and a black patch on the front edge of its hindwing. A male has one black spot on its forewing, while a female has two black spots. Looking from underneath, the forewing is white with two black spots and the hindwing is yellow.
Size
Caterpillar about 3.5 cm; Butterfly up to 5 cm wingspan.
Its genus name Leptospermum is from Greek leptos (thin) and sperma (seed), referring to its small seeds; and its species name laevigatum is from Latin laevigatus (smooth), probably referring to the appearance of the plant.
Also known as Australian Myrtle and Victorian Tea Tree.
A tall, bushy shrub or small tree, with bark that sheds in strips. Grows up to 6 m tall.
Leaves
Grey-green and obovate (egg-shaped and flat, with the narrow end attached to the stalk). They are 1.5 – 3 cm long and 5 – 8 mm wide.
Flowers
White and usually in groups of two. The flower heads are usually 1.5 – 2 cm in diameter, and made up of five petals that are 5 – 8 mm long, with many stamens protruding from the centre that are 2 mm long.
The caterpillar (larva) is initially a pale yellow-grey, before turning green with long black hairs along its body. Its head is brown-black with short hairs. The female butterfly (adult) is orange with creamy yellow and dark brown patches towards the tip of its forewings (front wings). The male is less colourful, being brown and orange with no pale patches. It also has an obvious raised vein in the middle of its forewing. Both males and females have a small eye-spot on each wing. The undersides of the wings in both the male and female are paler with faint markings, and their hindwings have very few markings. The female’s hindwing is darker then its forewing. It is difficult to identify these butterflies when they are resting with their wings closed. The males emerge quite a while earlier in the year before the females.
Size
Caterpillar about 3.5 cm long; Butterfly wingspan 5.5 – 7.5 cm (females are larger than males).
Black and white, with the pattern varying across its range. The back of its neck, upper tail and shoulders (on its wings) are white in males and grey in females, and (across most of Australia) the rest of its body is black. In south-eastern, central and south-western Australia, including Tasmania, its back and rump are entirely white. Its eye is red-brown. Young birds are usually grey rather than black and have dark eyes.
Distinctive feature
One toe faces backwards and three face forwards. It has a square-tipped tail.
The adult male is a distinctive glossy black tinged with iridescent blue and green all over, including its long tail, and it has a striking red eye. The female is glossy brown with white spots on top, and buff-cream underneath with many fine black bars running across its belly. The top of its head is black or brown with pale streaks, and its tail is brown with white bars running across it. A young bird looks like an adult female but has buff barring on its wings and generally much more buff colouring.
It has a grey back and head, and bright-yellow underparts. Southern birds have an olive-yellow rump, while birds in northern Australia have a brighter yellow rump. Its throat is off-white and when seen in flight, it has a pale bar on its wings. Its bill is black. Young birds are rufous-brown with paler streaks.
Size
13 – 17 cm long, the males are slightly larger
Dark slate-grey on its head, back and wings, and pale orange-brown below; its undertail is boldly barred black and white. Its legs and feet are dull yellow and its bill is black. Young birds are duller and browner, with mottled markings, especially on their breast and underparts.
Distinctive feature
A yellow eye-ring which is tinged green in young birds.
Its genus name Epicris means upon (epi) and a summit (acris), referring to the altitude where some species occur; and its species name longiflora means long (longus) and flower (florus), referring to the long, narrow flowers.
An upright to spreading evergreen shrub, typically straggly with branches arching towards the ground, 0.5 – 2 m high.
Leaves
With pointed tip and wide base, they are often described as heart-shaped. Each leaf is 5 – 17 mm long, 3 – 6.6 mm wide, and has slightly serrated margins. It is thin, flat, and sometimes has a rough upper surface.
Flowers
Long and tubular, some have pink-red tubes and white lobes (tips), others are all white. They are 5 – 6 mm in diameter and 12 – 27 mm long, with the lobes being 2.4 – 4.4 mm long. They grow in rows along the branches and are upright at first and then hang down as they reach maturity.
A black and white bird, the pattern varies slightly between sexes. The male has a white eyebrow above a black horizontal eye-stripe, a black face and throat, while the female has a white face and throat, with a broad vertical stripe through the eye, and no white eyebrow. Both sexes have a thin white bill and black legs and feet. Juvenile Magpie-larks have a black forehead, white eyebrow and a white throat.
The top of its head and its hindneck are black. Its forehead is covered with bright-yellow skin, which hangs down to form wattles. The rest of the head is white. Its back and wings are pale grey-brown. Below, black plumage extends from the hindneck onto the sides of its breast, and the rest of the underparts are white. Its long legs and feet are reddish and its bill is yellow. It has a prominent spur on each wing.
Juveniles are similar to adults, but have dark ‘scallop’ markings on the back and wings, and the wing spur and wattles are either smaller or absent.
Distinctive feature
A yellow wattle that extends from its forehead to behind its eye and hangs down beside its chin.
Its genus name Grevillea is named after Charles Francis Greville, co-founder of the Royal Horticultural Society, and its species name speciosa means showy, referring to its foliage.
Evergreen shrub, grows up to 3 m tall.
Leaves
Oval shaped with silvery hairs on underside. They are 1 – 5 cm long and 4 – 12 mm wide.
Flowers
Bright red, or occasionally pink, and spider-like in appearance. Each “spider leg” is 2 – 4 cm long and forms in a loose circle on a stalk. The flower heads are approximately 7 cm in diameter and grow at the end of branches or amongst leaves.
A tussock-like, rosette plant. Tussock size up to 30 cm high and wide with a flower stalk up to 1 m high.
Leaves
Long, sword-shaped and forming a clump. Each individual leaf is 8 – 20 cm long and 1 – 3 cm wide and usually stands upright. There are 5 veins running down each leaf.
Flowers
Small and initially cream, but turn brown rapidly. They grow on top of a ridged, 1 m high flower stem growing from the centre of the tussock of leaves. The flowers form a tight, cylindrical cluster which is 1 – 7 cm long.
Its genus name Banksia is named after Sir Joseph Banks, a British explorer and naturalist, and its species name marginata is from the Latin 'marginatus' meaning bordered, referring to the recurved leaf edges.
A variable species that occurs as a shrub, a flat-lying plant, or a tree, with smooth brown-grey bark. Grows up to 2 m high and wide as a shrub, less than 1 m as a flat-lying plant, and between 5 – 12 m as a tree.
Leaves
Green on the upper surface and silvery underneath. Each leaf is linear to oblong-shaped, 1 – 8 cm long, 3 – 13 mm wide, and has finely-toothed edges. The edges are recurved (rolled under) and may have small serrations, and their tip can be blunt or squared.
Flowers
Pale yellow cylindrical spikes forming a bottle-brush shape. Each flower head is 5 – 10 cm long and 4 – 6 cm wide and attracts nectar-eating birds.
Fruit/seed:
This spider is named for the cross the female weaves into the web. There are many theories about why the female does this including, strengthening the web, for camouflage, and for increasing prey catches as the cross reflects ultra-violet light which attracts insects. It may also deter predators which must go to the effort of cleaning off the extra silk after diving into the web.
The female has a silvery head with silver, yellow, red and black bands across its abdomen, and two yellow stripes running down its underside. Its legs are dark brown to black with one or two yellowish bands. The male and juveniles are brown and cream, with brown legs. It often appears to have only four legs because it sits with its legs in pairs along the stabilimentum.
Distinctive feature
The zigzag patterns (known as the stabilimentum) it weaves into its web to form an X or a cross, after which it is named.
The striped marsh frog or brown-striped frog is a common species in urban habitats It is a mostly aquatic frog native to coastal Eastern Australia.
A pale to grey-brown back with darker brown stripes. Usually also a pale stripe running down the middle of its back. Its belly is white and often flecked with brown, and there are dark spots and stripes on its limbs.
Size
4.5 - 7.5 cm
It was first described by renowned botanist J.E. Smith, the founder of London’s Linneaen Society.
Evergreen shrub with smooth, purplish brown or light green bark. Up to 0.3 – 3 m high.
Leaves
Narrow, straight or very slightly elliptic, and blue-green. Each leaf is about 5 – 15 cm long and 2 – 10 mm wide, with a prominent vein down the centre. Its surface is hairless and covered with a fine white powder. It grows at right angles to the stem.
Flowers
Pale yellow to white and ball-shaped. Each flower is 4 – 7 mm in diameter and is found in clusters of 5 – 10 flowers aligned along an axis of 1 – 3 cm long. They are sweet smelling and enclosed in overlapping bracts (modified leaves) before opening.
Metallic blue-black on top and light to dark grey on its breast and belly. Its forehead, throat and upper breast are rust in colour. It has grey legs and feet, and its eyes and bill are black. A young Welcome Swallow has shorter tail feathers than an adult and its forehead and throat are a creamy beige (instead of rust).
Distinctive feature
A deeply forked tail with a white band or row of spots on the long tail feathers.
A medium-sized black and white honeyeater. It has large bright yellow tail and wing panels, with a large conspicuous white cheek patch on a mainly black head. Young birds are duller with brownish plumage.
Size
16-18 cm
It has dark brown to black fur with a bright white-stripe at the junction of the body and wings. Some individuals also have an area of white-fur on the chest.
One of the largest insectivorous (microbats) in Australia, it is in the ‘free tail’ family (Molossidae) which have a strong, stiff tail projecting beyond the tail membrane.
The species was formerly classified as Tadarida australis.
Size
85 - 100 mm head and body length; free tail extends 40 to 55 mm from the body. Adult average weight 37 g.
One of Australia's most widespread birds on mainland.Mostly black with a white belly and eyebrow. A young bird has paler, slightly rusty edges to its wing feathers.
Size
18 - 22 cm long (from head to tail)
Dark grey-brown above with some brown streaking. It is paler below with lighter streaks and has a slightly down-curved bill. Young birds are paler.
Distinctive feature
A broad yellow facial stripe across its eye which is bordered with black.
