Birds of Australia

During my short stay in Australia, I got a chance to take some pictures of Australian birds.  These are mostly shot in the evenings when I get some time to roam around.  This will be the first time I specifically shoot birds.  Spent a fair bit of time tracking them in Sydney harbor and Canberra to be able to get a good shot.  I still need to learn a lot to master art of bird photography.  I will write about my experience with Sydney and Canberra in a later post.

Rock Pigeon (Domestic Pigeon) pictured at Sydney Harbor

The Rock Pigeon (Columba livia), or Rock Dove, is a member of the bird family Columbidae (doves and pigeons).  You can see the cere at the top of the beak.

Silver Gull in flight pictured at Bondi Beach, Sydney

My first good shot of a moving bird.  I took many pictures of these beautiful birds in the Bondi beach, but this was the one of the few worth posting here.  Apparently there is a lot of tricks I need to master before I can do this better.

Silver Gull at rest, pictured at Sydney Harbor

The Silver Gull (Chroicocephalus novaehollandiae) also known simply as "seagull" in Australia, is the most common gull seen in Australia. It has been found throughout the continent, but particularly coastal areas.

Crested Pigeon pictured at Canberra

The Crested Pigeon (Ocyphaps lophotes) is a bird found widely throughout mainland Australia except for far tropical north areas. There are only two Australian pigeon species that possess an erect crest, being the Crested Pigeon and the Spinifex Pigeon. The Crested Pigeon is the larger of the two species.

Australian White Ibis pictured at Hyde Park, Sydney

The Australian White Ibis (Threskiornis molucca) is a wading bird of the ibis family Threskiornithidae, also known as the "Sheep bird". It is widespread across much of Australia. It has a predominantly white plumage with a bare, black head, long downcurved bill and black legs.

Alternate colloquial names include "Dump Chook" or "Tip Turkey", from its habit of rummaging in garbage, and "Sheep-bird".  This ibis feeds on various fish, frogs and other water creatures, and also insects and garbage.

Galah, pictured at Canberra

The Galah (pronounced /ɡəˈlɑː/), Eolophus roseicapilla, also known as the Rose-breasted Cockatoo, Galah Cockatoo, Roseate Cockatoo or Pink and Grey, is one of the most common and widespread cockatoos, and it can be found in open country in almost all parts of mainland Australia.

Bird descriptions courtesy Wikipedia.  See more photos of these birds in my flickr set.