One bird that fills the air with color and motion is the Rainbow Bee-eater. With many species in Africa, this is the only one Down Under. Bee-eaters nail hymenopterids on swift wings and then beat the stingers on perches to kill them and remove the barb. Like terrestrial kingfishers, they often perch in pairs and are usually looking in opposite directions (presumably to double their quarry).

Crimson Chats remind me of our Vermilion Flycatchers, red males and a life in the dry country. This fellow has caught what I believe is a true “bug” (Hap-?) and can’t decide whether to eat or fly. I think he looked up and felt a little busted, with me so close. BTW, bugs are one certain order of the class Insecta, slightly over a million species. I’d tell you the name of that order but I don’t have the backbone for invertebrate zo. Get it?

Another of my favorite birds in Aussieland is the Forest Kingfisher, which takes blue and white to new heights. With a bill like their ancestral kookaburra, they nail a lot of terrestrial species like lizards, snakes and small mammals, plus larger insects. There are also several other more aquatic kingfishers in Australia.

You walk through a dark rain forest and suddenly there’s a brilliant flash of yellow flitting almost in your face. It’s the Lemon-bellied Flycatcher, as much a robin as a flycatcher. With large eyes they pierce the low light and snatch up the tiniest flies with unerring success.

On the red sands of the Gibson Desert a small, yellow bird hops unassumingly along the hot grains. It’s a Yellow Chat, relative of the Red Chat. No insect is too small to escape his penetrating stare and this foraging is all-consuming as we crept closer and closer. The shutters didn’t even disturb him as he remained fixed on a fly, soon to be his meal.

In the low light of a very gloomy morning at the Tyto Reserve, a male Red-backed Fairy-wren darts out but for a moment, escorted by several females in his harem. No wonder why, huh? Fairy-wrens are gaudy insectivores with long, waggling tails and colors that defy imagination.

All across Southern Australia the Red-capped Robin flits off their perch and (usually) heads for the ground after lunch. This male was a Gluepot Reserve, perhaps the best birding location in the Country (and the place I scored #6000). Robins are plump flycatchers with thin bills that spend much of their time on the ground.

With a head like a motmot the Red-winged Fairy-wren enjoys a moment of unescorted peace without his usual entourage. This group is always on or near the ground, largely represented by females and young birds. They chatter incessantly and respond to squeaking well enough to get decent pictures.

The Scarlet Robin is found in Southern Australia and not in huge numbers. They generally work in pairs and despite the color, are easily overlooked. Their soft chip is reminiscent of a Black-throated Blue Warbler and the female is naturally colored a bit like the warbler’s gals. I often relate calls in other continents to familiar birds to help me learn their sounds.

Not much outshines the Splendid Fairy-wren and this male is giving me every opportunity to send his colors back to you. Even neater is the behavior of fanning out his ear feathers, the bright turquoise below the eye. Birds like these dispel the myth that our Planet’s brightest birds are fruit-eaters living in rain forests (although most are!).

The Striated Pardalote is part finch, part tanager and perhaps a few other mixtures. They are small, but noisy and at times, ridiculously tame. All pardalotes prefer berries but will take insects or other small bits of Australian manna. This species is divided into many subspecies all over the Continent, with some birders hoping they get split into species.

Yet another of those little nymphs is the White-winged Fairy-wren, found here in the treeless scrub of the Nullarbor Plain. Curiously, I watched this bird pluck one of those red fruits and peck away at it for sustenance. It’s cold in August in Southern Australia and birds have to adjust or become irrelevant.

For a splash of yellow, try the Yellow White-eye of the West Coast. These are usually in flocks, making twittering noises in feeding frenzies. The eye ring is curious but it can’t help but remind one of a kinglet. This group is found all over the Old World on small islands and coastal areas of larger land masses. Now, let’s not kid ourselves, the real color in Australian ornithology lies in her parrots. The remaining colorful birds are part of this large and diverse order, so richly and vividly expressed in Oz. In fact, some will make you think you’re in wonderland!

An interesting pair is the Eclectus Parrots, a species with huge sexual dimorphism. The red and blue female on the right far outshines the green guy on left. The word “eclectus” refers to being separate, leading to their name. They are found in the rain forests of the East, all the way up the Cape York Peninsula.

But as we have found out, not all bright colors are in rain forests. These abundant Galahs are primarily in the Outback, issuing their high-pitched notes and zipping around from tree to ground to power line. They eat mostly seeds, a great source of protein and energy. This picture shows what birds with semi-zygodactyl feet can do. This one has bent his #3 toe frontwards, leaving but one hind toe to scratch his cheek. They are, therefore, reversible toes.

With credit to my sharp-eyed wife, this Major Mitchell Cockatoo really put on a show for us (although she called it a “Sergeant Major” Cockatoo. <grin> I knew there was something fishy going on.) Like cardinals, the crest serves the dual purpose of displaying dominance to other species as well as courting for the gals. Parrots are an amazingly adaptable group that really knows how to seek out a living in what seems to be lousy conditions.

Up and down the eastern seaboard of Australia lives the long, elegant King Parrot, one of Oz’s most beautiful birds (and this is the female!). Often mixing with Crimson Rosellas, Kings will hide in the low canopy unseen by enemies (and humans). These are one of the large parrots of Australia that fly in long swoops, unlike virtually all the other parrots of the World.

Living in the heavily-forested Mulga Desert is the Mulga Parrot. Named (obviously) for the gum trees they feed off of, they are found in parts of Southern Oz in quiet pairs. There are 7-8 species of lovely parrots in Oz about this size and shape, all with rich colors. This species is doing quite well, living away from most humans.

There are several very colorful parrots in a group called the Rosella’s. This is the Pale-headed Rosella, one of the lesser-known species. They live in the forested clearing of Eastern Australia, nesting in burnt-out stumps and flying mostly under the radar of pet collectors and even birders. I got kind of lucky, so I guess you did, too. 😉 Another group of medium-sized parrots is the Lorikeets. This is the Rainbow Lorikeet, but one without the bright red on the chest sported by most. What really hits you is how well the green blends with the leaves. This is called cryptic coloration, when an animal blends with a particular part of the environment.

And lastly, the Red-tailed Cockatoo spreads color and raucous noise over much of the Aussie Outback. This female pales in comparison to the color of the male, but her menacing stare and loud voice was very impressive. I’ll tell you, being surrounded by a flock of two dozen of these, all screaming and flashing their red tails, is a spectacle to behold. For sure, Australia is a colorful place on many levels.