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Although birds are usually quite easy to see, often they are more difficult to identify. You may have had the briefest glimpse or heard a snatch of its song, or perhaps it was a bird you have never seen before. The best place to look for it is here.

You will discover the remarkable variety of birds that occur across Australia. With stunning images of featured species and some recordings of their songs and calls, you are sure to find that mystery bird, or learn more about species you already know.

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Atlas & Birdata

The Atlas is one of BirdLife Australia's greatest resources, allowing us to track changes in birds across the country. Since 1998 a dedicated band of... More >

Beach-nesting Birds

BirdLife Australia’s Beach-nesting Birds project works with community volunteers across Australia to help raise awareness among beach users about... More >

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BirdLife Australia has been running the Carnaby's Black-Cockatoo Recovery project since 2001. We work with various land managers, government and... More >

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The Shorebirds 2020 program aims to reinvigorate and coordinate national shorebird population monitoring in Australia. To report on the population... More >

Woodland Birds for Biodiversity

Since European settlement one-third of Australia’s woodlands and 80% of temperate woodlands have been cleared. The Woodland Birds for Biodiversity... More >

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Bush Stone-curlew

Burhinus grallarius
Burhinidae

If Bush Stone-curlews are nearby you may hear their eerie, high-pitched wailing at night. This ghost-like call is their contact call, and may be given by several birds in a chorus. Rendered as weer-lo, it is repeated four or five times, sometimes culminating in a trilled, screeching crescendo. It is sometimes also heard during the day, when stone-curlews are usually inactive, standing quietly in the shade with their eyes half-closed, or squatting on the ground where their cryptic plumage makes them difficult to see among the leaf litter.

Identification

Description

The Bush Stone-curlew, or Bush Thick-knee, is a large, slim, mainly nocturnal, ground-dwelling bird. It is mostly grey-brown above, streaked with black and rufous. It is whitish below with clear, vertical black streaks. The bill is small and black, and the eye is large and yellow, with a prominent white eyebrow. Both sexes are similar. Young Bush Stone-curlews are similar in appearance to the adults, but are paler, and a little browner in colour. Bush Stone-curlews are nocturnal birds (night birds), doing all their feeding and other activities at night.

Similar Species

The Bush Stone-curlew is quite an unusual looking bird, and unlike any other bird found in Australia. The related Beach Stone-curlew, Esacus neglectus, has a much larger bill and more boldly marked face, and has little or no black streaking on the body.

Location

Distribution

The range of the Bush Stone-curlew extends throughout Australia.

Habitat

Behaviour

Feeding

Bush Stone-curlews have a wide-ranging diet, but prefer to feed on insects, molluscs, small lizards, seeds and occasionally small mammals. Feeding takes place at night. During the breeding season, nesting birds will search for food in the vicinity of the nest site, while at other times, birds may travel large distances. All food is taken from the ground.

Breeding

Bush Stone-curlews have a remarkable courtship dance. Individuals stand with their wings outstretched, their tail upright and their neck stretched slightly forward. The birds will stamp their feet up and down, like a soldier marking time. This courtship ritual is repeated for an hour or more at a time and is accompanied by loud and constant calling. Eggs are laid in a shallow scrape in the ground and both adults share the incubation and care for the young.

Conservation Status

Federal

Secure

NSW

Endangered

NT

Secure

QLD

Secure

SA

Secure

TAS

Not present

VIC

Endangered

WA

Secure