In the history of where I live, I doubt wandering bush turkeys, or any variation of them was as plentiful as they are on the streets of Gold Coast, Australia. No bird specialist am it, but it only takes a few minutes of walking along the shore of Gold Coast, Australia, to conclude that they’ve got lots more types of birds than we do here in Los Angeles.
We were having a great time, enjoying our Australian family while bugging our eyes out at what they consider run-of-the-mill critters. Our vacation covered Auckland / Rotorua / New Zealand’s Redwoods / Huka Falls / Craters of the Moon / Waitomo Glowworms Caves / Taupo / Pirongia / Hamilton Gardens / then in Australia we met family in Gold Coast / established in Part 1 of 2 Birds of Australia that theirs love to dress up in color / marveled at the Spectacular Views in and Around Gold Coast / enjoyed a delicious meal on the beach / saw wild things and cute things at Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary / had fun with Rita Rigby / met the beasts of Brisbane and the beauty there / and enjoyed Sydney this much and that much, as well as the purring there!
For instance, whereas here we have white swans (when we have them), over there black swans such as these are abundant. Wikipedia describes them: “…a large waterbird… Within Australia, they are nomadic, with erratic migration patterns dependent upon climatic conditions… They are monogamous breeders, and are unusual in that one-quarter of all pairings are homosexual, mostly between males. Both partners share incubation and cygnet rearing duties.”
We have pigeons — they have ibis! Now, this is one impressive bird! Its pate is bald yet pleated and striped, it’s long bill curves, and it’s feet and legs are as sturdy as avian appendages come.
As natural habitats for ibis continue to recede, they move to cities — and thrive. They’re made for dredging their live food out of deep mud, which doesn’t tend to impress city humans (who mock them as ‘bin chickens’ and ‘trash turkeys’) when the birds dig through garbage.
One evening, around twilight, when bugs come out, we happened by an extraordinarily noisy tree. Australian rainbow lorikeets are so picturesque that they hardly seem real — until they make this loud of a racket…
A resident Australian magpie…
What bird do you wish you saw every day?
Happiness Between Tails by da-AL 
There’s a pair of black swans in a park near here but I don’t believe they’re native to our area. They’re lovely. I like the ibis too with its cool beak, but the bird I wish I saw more often here would be the goldfinch. They’re so pretty. My second would be humming birds. We have a few but they move so fast!
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Goldfinches — yes! That would be lovely to see every day! We’ve got lots of hummingbirds in Los Angeles & everyone loves them!
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Oh, joy! If I were there I’m sure I’d fill my birder’s book up in a day. But speaking of wild turkeys, we often see them in our river parks near Sacramento. In fact, not too many years ago, a family friend used to go out turkey hunting with his buddies. Not much use nowadays. The domesticated variety produces much better, less stringy meat and are easier to come by. Plus, the outlying rural areas, as happened in Los Angeles, have now filled in with residential neighborhoods. I can’t even find the small ranch where our friends used to live. Needless to say, I am so enjoying your visit “down under,” even if it is vicariously.
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So glad you’re enjoying the posts, Barb 🙂
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Those lorikeets think they’re cicadas?
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🙂
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Oh, the swans are beautiful! In Denmark we “only” have the white ones as well.
People can be really unfriendly, first they destroy the Ibises’ habitat and then they mock them when they are striving to survive.
I love the parakeets, although they are noisy, they are just so lovely!
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Very true. The noisy birds, fortunately, only do that at dusk, when there are many bugs to eat
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Wonderful photos of Australian birds – they really are colorful. Those ibis are especially dramatic.
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Dramatic is a good word for them 🙂
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How pretty 😀
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