Great Backyard Bird Off - Australia (poll 5)
choose your bird
Grey Fantail
Australian Ringneck
Bird Support
Grey Fantail (Rhipidura albiscapa)
"Because I know someone's going to submit a willie wagtail and these guys are my local fantails"
Small songbird with long, pale-tipped tail, tiny, thin bill. Frequently cocks and fans tail. Subspecies vary in upperparts tone and extent of white in the tail. Inhabits wide range of habitats, very active in foraging, and rarely perches in the same place for long. (eBird)
Australian Ringneck (Barnardius zonarius)
"pretty colours! native australian bird that's not endangered! the subspecies i'm most familiar with is known as the 'twenty-eight' because that's what its call sounds like! found only in australia but also found all across australia!"
Large green parrot with a yellow collar. Four separate subspecies are recognized, with varying habitat preferences ranging from harsh arid mulga woodlands to suburban parks. Plumages also vary, and the subspecies sometimes interbreed. Shared characteristics are a yellow "ring" around the neck and overall turquoise-green plumage. The subspecies in eastern Australia have green heads, while those in central and western Australia have blackish heads. Some subspecies have orange belly bands and red above the bill. Calls including loud, ringing chatter and chiming. (eBird)
image sources: fantail (Alan Melville), ringneck (Peter Lowe)
