Birds

Sea Gulls

Apppearance

‘Silver Gulls’ are commonly called Sea Gulls. They have a white head, tail and belly, light grey back and black-tipped wings. In adults, the bill, legs and eye-ring are orange red.

Lifestyle

Sea Gulls are famously successful scavengers, pestering humans for handouts of scraps, raiding bins or unattended food containers or searching for rubbish. Other foods they enjoy include worms, fish, insects and crustaceans. They’ll take what they can get! These birds can become a nuisance for coastal properties and businesses.

Habits

Sea Gulls can drink both fresh and salt water, are found at virtually any coastal or watery habitat but rarely seen far from land. They nest in large colonies on offshore islands before returning to the mainland. Intelligent creatures, they mate for life and share parenting duties, learning sophisticated communication techniques to enhance scavenging.

Common Myna

Apppearance

The Indian Myna, or Common Myna, is brown with a black head. It has a yellow bill, legs and bare eye skin. In-flight it shows large white wing patches.

Lifestyle

Mynas have adapted to urban environments and can cause problems for humans. Favoured nesting locations are in the walls and ceilings of buildings, as well as tree hollows. Nests are messy and can consist of a variety of materials – leaves, grasses, feathers and bits of human rubbish are common and be an unsightly addition to properties!

Habits

Common mynas are known as bullies of other birds. Introduced in 1883, they have successfully pushed native birds from their natural habitats. Very territorial, they can fight ruthlessly with other birds. Accomplished scavengers, they feed on almost anything – insects, fruits, vegetables, pets’ food, scraps – and even fledgling sparrows.

House Sparrow

Apppearance

House sparrows are large finches. The male has a grey crown, black face and throat, with dark black and brown upperparts. The female is paler and has a pale buff eye stripe.

Lifestyle

Sparrows have spread successfully because they feed on a wide range of foodstuffs. They eat insects, spiders, berries, seeds, flower buds and scraps of food. They can become pests through nesting, plus also entering canteens and buildings to feed, with sparrows even learning sneaky tricks to open automatic doors!

Habits

Males and females form permanent pair bonds, with the female incubating the eggs. The nest is a large, messy ball of grass, wool, feathers and plant materials. Usually located in roof voids or crevices in walls. They breed aggressively in Spring.

Common Starling

Apppearance

The Common Starling has a wide variation in plumage, with the male glossier. Birds are black with large white spots in autumn, which disappear in breeding season.

Lifestyle

Breeding season in Spring sees the large winter flocks of Starlings scatter into pairs or small groups. Their nests are an untidy display of grass, leaves, twigs and rubbish. They also love nesting in roof voids and walls of human houses and can be aggressive and territorial when breeding.

Habits

Starlings are often sighted searching for seeds and insects on lawns and paddocks. Other food includes spiders, worms, human scraps and fruit crops. They love looking for anything on the ground and are often found in vast flocks, especially in the winter months.