A fleshy reddish wattle (skin flap) is on the side of the neck. Plumage is grey-brown on body, with prominent white streaks and yellow on belly. Face is pale and tail is long with a white-tip. Young Red Wattlebirds are duller than the adult and have a brown, rather than reddish, eye. The wattle is also very small and pale.
Its nest is an untidy saucer of sticks, leaves, and grass lined with bark-strips, fur, and hair; 2 - 16 m high in the fork of a tree or on a branch against trunk.
Size
33 - 37 cm long
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.
Small, semi-succulent, spreading shrub that grows 1 - 2 m tall. Branches grow to 1 m long.
Leaves
Leaves are green in colour with fine white hairs. Leaves are semi-succulent, cylindrical in shape and grow up to 2 cm long.
Flowers
Flowers are small and solitary, held in the leaf axils (where leaf joins stem).
Named in 1830 by explorer and botanist, Allan Cunningham. The genus name Grevillea honours Charles F Greville who co-founded the Royal Horticultural Society, and the species name robusta refers to its large size.
Evergreen tree usually grows 20 – 30 m tall but can range from 8 – 40 m in height.
Leaves
Silvery green and fern-like, green on the upper surface and paler underneath. They are 10 – 34 cm long and 9 – 15 cm wide, and consist of 11 – 31 segments that are narrow-elliptic to triangular in shape. The segments are 1.5 – 5 cm long and 2 – 10 mm wide, and they give the leaf a deeply divided appearance.
Flowers
Golden yellow to orange, each one is about 2 cm long but they are arranged in pairs along the flowering stalk to give an overall length of 12 – 15 cm.
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.
Was previously named Bracteantha viscosa, and before that Helichrysum viscosum.
Small stiff herb with multiple branches and hair covered stems. Grows up to 20 - 80 cm high.
Leaves
Stems with fine hairs or prickles. 30 - 100 mm long and 2 - 10 mm wide linear leaves with bright green elliptic (oval like shape) that have a sticky and rough surface.
Flowers
Bright yellow flower heads, 20-30mm wide. Displays colours of gold, orange, bronze or vibrant yellow. These appear in September to December but may occur later. Large single flower surrounded by many bracts (petals).
Males have a rich blue and black plumage above and on the throat. The belly is grey-white and the beak is black. In non-breeding plumage, called eclipse, he is very similar to the female.
Females and young birds are mostly brown above with a dull red-orange area around the eye and brown beak. Females have a pale green gloss, absent in young birds, on the otherwise brown tail. Both sexes possess brown legs.
The nest is dome-shaped consisting of grass, moss, rootlets, twigs, spiders webs and other bramble. Found low in tussock, shrub or bracken.
Mostly bright green, with a blue crown, cheeks and colouring on its wings. It has red around its bill, throat and forehead, and bright red patches under each wing. The red on its throat is edged with yellow and its long, pointed tail is purple-red. The female is slightly duller, with a creamy bar under its wings.
Size
About 25 cm; ; Wingspan 32 – 36 cm
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.
Mostly light blue-grey in colour. The forehead, crown, chin and upper throat are white. It has a long, slim neck and a pointed grey-black bill. The legs are long and dull yellow in colour. Easily identifiable when seen from below with the dark flight feathers of the wing contrasting with the paler grey plumage.
Males and females are similar. When breeding, the birds have long feathers (nuptial plumes) on the head, neck and back. Young are similar in appearance to non-breeding adults, with little to no white on the face; underparts often have a reddish colour.
Distinctive feature
Its characteristic white face.
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)
