Bird Word: Endemic
- Endemic: a species of bird that is confined to a particular region. The Chestnut-breasted Whiteface is endemic to my home state, South Australia. It is not found anywhere else. It is also our only endemic species.
There are many species endemic to Australia, that is, they are found no-where else in the world. Some of these include:
- Emus
- several species of Babblers
- some species of Fairy-Wrens
- the Plains Wanderer
Some species are endemic to certain regions, or particular habitats. For example, the Black Eared Miner is largely confined to the mallee habitat. Some states have more endemic species than others. South Australia has only one, while Tasmania has about a dozen endemic species. One of these is the Forty Spotted Pardalote. I’ve never seen that species, but it is similar to the Spotted Pardalote we have resident in our garden, and is shown in the photo below.
Spotted Pardalote with nesting material in beak
Bird Word: Colonial
- Colonial: species of birds that roost or nest in communal groups, or colonies, are said to live in colonial groups.
Some species roost alone, some roost in small groups and yet others roost in large groups, or colonies. The same is true of nesting; many nest alone, some nest in groups while others nest in large colonies, sometimes numbering in the tens of thousands.
Those that roost or nest in colonies include the penguins, cormorants, many species of ibis, pelicans, stilts, avocets, terns and gulls. Some of these species feed alone but colonial nesting and roosting species often feed in large groups as well. For example, it is quite common in parts of Australia to see hundreds of Straw-Necked Ibis and White Ibis feeding together in the same paddock or dairy flat. Likewise, thousands of stilts and other wading birds are often seen in shallow water on estuaries or tidal flats.
Photo: The Black-Winged Stilt is just one of many species of bird that roosts, nests and feeds in large colonial groups.
For more in this series of articles check out the Glossary of Bird Words here.
Black-Winged Stilt
Bird Word: Endangered
- Endangered: a species so few in number it is in danger of becoming rare or even extinct.
Unfortunately Australia has a large and growing number of endangered species of birds. There are many reasons for this which I do not wish to go into here. Many of the reasons are political and at this stage I do not really wish this site to go in that direction.
Some species are so at risk that they are on the “Critically Endangered List.” Some are only critically endangered in certain localities. These include:
- Orange Bellied Parrot
- Helmeted Honeyeater
- Southern Emu-Wren (Fleurieu Peninsula of South Australia)
- Spotted Quail-thrush (Mt Lofty Ranges in South Australia)
More species are on the “Endangered List” including:
- Black-eared Miner
- Plains Wanderer
- Forty Spotted Pardalote
- Gouldian Finch
For the complete list go to the Birds Australia site here.
Bird Word: Eclipse Plumage
- Eclipse Plumage: for some months after breeding some species, for example, some male ducks and male wrens, take on a duller plumage colour before resuming their normal plumage.
The male wren in the photo below is certainly NOT in eclipse plumage. He is in full breeding plumage. I show this photo because I do not yet have one taken of the male in eclipse plumage. The female, shown on the left, is confusingly like the male when he is in his eclipse moult.
Superb Blue Wrens
Bird Word: Ear Coverts
- Ear-coverts: the small feathers that cover the area of the ear, sometimes distinctively coloured.
I don’t seem to have a photo to illustrate this exactly except for the one below of the Zebra Finch. The ear coverts would be approximately where the orange cheek patch appears.
Zebra Finch