Birds of the Kimberley

Katherine Veness's blog | Created 9 years ago

The Kimberley covers the northern region of Western Australia (WA), and varies greatly in terms of geological, climatic and vegetation features.

Landscape with trees and hills

Kimberley landscape
Image copyright K. Veness, WA Museum 

Unlike the more temperate southern parts of WA, the Kimberley is subject to hot, wet summers and warm, dry winters. Summer brings the inevitability of tropical cyclones that vary in severity, bringing heavy dumps of rain that can result in extensive flooding. Despite this, the Kimberly region is defined as semiarid, due to the long, parched Dry Season. 

The Kimberley landscape varies as much as its weather, from high sandstone escarpments and plateaus to deep, plunging gorges. The coastline is rugged, and tidal ranges are high. The Kimberley is also home to a number of large rivers. As such, mangroves and mudflats are common features, providing unique environments for a vast number of fauna, from birds to crabs and crocodiles.

A gorge surrounded by rocky formations

Bells Gorge in the Kimberley
Image copyright K. Veness, WA Museum 

From mangroves to monsoon forest, the diversity of Kimberley weather and landscapes has given rise to several vegetation types. The Kimberley touches the Great Sandy Desert, which is dominated by needle-sharp spinifex. This then gives way to savannah woodlands and pindan (“local name for Acacia-dominated small tree-shrub formation found on red sandy soils”), and even pockets of rainforest.

A gorge surrounded by trees and sandy beaches

Windjana Gorge, the Kimberley
Image copyright K. Veness, WA Museum 

This great variety means the Kimberley is home to many species of bird.  Learn more about some of these species below.

Masked Lapwing 

Vanellus miles

The Masked Lapwing belongs to the Family Charadriidae, which includes plovers, lapwings and dotterels.

The most striking physical feature of the Masked Lapwing, and the origin of its name, is its bright yellow bill, iris, and wattles that cover the birds face like a mask.  Aside from this feature, the Masked Lapwing’s feathers appear in blocks of black, white, grey and brown.

There are two subspecies of Vanellus miles, one of which is only an itinerant visitor to Western Australia. The other, V. m. miles, calls the Kimberley, if not home, then one of its permanent bases (it is also found throughout eastern Australia and southern New Guinea).

This moderately common bird prefers to live in pairs or small groups on the fringes of freshwater swamps, lagoons, claypans, river pools, bore overflows, sewage ponds and floodwaters. 

A Masked Lapwing female will usually lay her eggs between December and April, in a nest built on bare ground, sometimes lined with or protected from above by dry grass.  A clutch usually comprises of 3 – 4 eggs of an olive or buff brown colour and covered in dark splotches.

Egg Plate showing Masked Lapwing eggs among others

Egg Plate 20 - No.2: Masked Lapwing Vanellus miles miles from Roebuck Plains, WA.
Image copyright WA Museum 

Red-backed Button-quail

Turnix maculosus

Another bird that calls the Kimberley one of its homes (also eastern Australia and parts of Asia) is the Red-backed Button-quail.

This small quail, which grows to a maximum weight of 47 g (adult female), is uncommon throughout its range. The adult male varies in colouration over its body, including stripes and of black, white and grey, and other feathers of mottled grey, black, brown, red, and white. The beak is yellowish in colour. There are only small differences in the colouration of female and juvenile birds.

The Red-backed Button-quail prefers dense grasses or herbage beside streams and in swampland areas.

Button-quails are ground-dwelling birds that differ from true quails in their foot structure and calls. Males care for offspring from egg to fledgling.

Dollarbird 

Eurystomas orientalis pacificus

This colourful bird has a range that stretches around the Kimberley coast and into eastern Australia (primarily for breeding) and parts of Asia (for wintering).

The feathers of the Dollarbird progress from a dark charcoal black on the head to a shining aqua-blue on the body. Wings are banded with black, white, aquamarine and blue. The bill is an orangey-yellow, and feet vary between individuals from red, to reddish brown or pink. Adults display a purplish-blue throat patch.

The Dollarbird spends its time in tall trees near water, at the edge of rainforests, deciduous vine forests, and even in mangrove forests. It has chosen the Kimberley as its breeding ground, and breeding season is marked by loud, rasping calls during courtship.

This species nests in tree hollows high off the ground. A female Dollarbird lays 3 – 5 eggs in a nest of wood fibre between the months of October and December. The Dollarbird will leave the Kimberley in March – April. 

Brolga 

Grus rubicunda

The Brolga belongs to a family of birds (Gruidae - cranes) that are found in swamps and grasslands all over the world, except South America.

A pair of brolgas on a mudflat

A pair of brolgas
Image copyright K. Veness, WA Museum

These tall birds can grow to 1.3 m in height, and weigh up to 7 kg (males are larger than females). Adult birds have feathers in varying shades of grey, and have red – orange cheeks, yellow or orange irises, a greenish bill, and legs in varying shades of black.

Brolgas are often quite easy to spot in a variety of habitats, including freshwater swamps, lagoons, claypans and river pools.

Brolgas are known for their dancing and leaping displays. Their croaking and trumpeting calls can be heard at a distance, particularly at night.

Egg-laying season extends from December through to March, with a female laying 1 – 2 eggs per clutch.

Egg Plate showing Brolga eggs among others

Egg Plate 4 - No.1&2: Brolga Grus rubicunda near Wyndham, WA and Brolga Grus rubicunda from Ayr, Qld.
Image copyright WA Museum 

Red Goshawk 

Erythrotriorchis radiatus

The Red Goshawk is a rare, reddish-brownish coloured bird. It has a brown – yellow iris, and yellowish legs. It lives in well-wooded country and is known to feed on other birds, large lizards, snakes, and mammals.

Female Red Goshawks will lay eggs in June – July and incubate them for 34 days. The fledging period of a young Red Goshawk is 53 – 58 days.

Erythrotriorchis radiatus is the only species of its genus.

Northern Rosella 

Platycercus venustus

This colourful bird sports feathers in a variety of hues, from black, dark red and dark violet blue to yellow, red and pale blue.  The female of the species is slightly duller than her male counterpart.

This bird prefers open forests, and is found primarily along watercourses in hilly country. Its diet consists of seeds, fruit and flowers.

The Northern Rosella nests in a hollow tree limb or tree trunk hole, where the female will lay a clutch of 2 – 4 eggs in a wood dust nest. The eggs are incubated for 19 days.

Wooded Kimberley landscape

A hilly Kimberley Landscape
Image copyright WA Museum