Desert Owl

A large dark cormorant of rocky marine shorelines, rarely recorded inland, unlike similar Great Cormorant, which is widespread inland. Similar to Great, but adult has more extensive white in the throat and in breeding plumage shows green (not bronze) sheen above. Juvenile usually has paler underparts than young Great. In all plumages, Japanese shows more bare orange-yellow skin above the eye than Great but has a much smaller gular pouch (bare skin of the throat).

A large, spectacular, slender, carmine-pink-and-teal-blue bee-eater with a long pointed tail, black bill, and black facial mask. The immature is duller and shorter-tailed. It gathers in large groups that often attend bush fires, and it specializes in catching large flying insects, including dragonflies, butterflies, and locusts. Breeds colonially by burrowing into sandbanks. It has a complex three-stage migration; it generally breeds between 13–20°S from August–September, disperses south of the breeding area December–March, and then moves north of the breeding area April–August. “Trik-trik-trik” calls are more guttural than those of European Bee-eater. Similar Northern Carmine Bee-eater has a teal-colored (not carmine) chin and throat.

Tiny, short-tailed, streaky, brown cisticola. Distinctive breeding male has a pale crown and dark lores. Female and non-breeding male have a streaked crown. Found in moist grassland. Inconspicuous for most of the year. Usually seen when doing a flight display over its breeding habitat. The song consists of high whistles alternated with several lower “cheewa” notes. Breeding male distinguished from Cloud, Wing-snapping, and other small cisticolas by its unstreaked pale crown. Female and non-breeding male may only be distinguishable by voice.