GREY FALCON

Photographed near Barkley Homestead, Northern Territory May 2016

779               GREY FALCON            Falco hypoleucos

Australia         (623)

Found in lightly treed inland plains; gibber deserts, sand ridges, pastoral lands, timbered watercourses; seldom in driest deserts. 30-44 cm, span to 90cm. Female larger. Range: resident or nomadic visitor to inland parts of all mainland States, especially in Simpson desert-Strezlecki Track region of NT, SA, w Q and far nw NSW; nw coast of WA from Shark Bay to e Kimberley; ne coast near Townsville (Q) rare to very rare; sedentary, dispersive or part-migratory.

Central-west Queensland, August 2017

DUSKY GRASSWREN

Photographed near Tennant Creek, Northern Territory May 2016

778        DUSKY GRASSWREN             Amytornis purnelli

Australia         (622)

Found on rocky ranges with spinifex; shrubs. 15-18 cm. Range: nw SA-far e WA, through inland NT.

Note: this bird was near Tennant Creek, Northern Territory and there is currently consideration of this as a separate species.

Photographed south of Alice Springs May 2016

CHESNUT RAIL

Photographed at Buffalo Creek, Darwin May 2016

777              CHESTNUT RAIL            Eulabeornis castaneoventris

Australia           (621)

Found in coastal mangroves, tidal creeks and exposed mud. 44-52 cm; male larger. Range: coastal n. Australia and islands, from c. Derby (WA) to Top End (NT), to se Gulf of Carpentaria. Sedentary.

Darwin, January 2024

RED GOSHAWK

Photographed in Kakadu, Northern Territory May 2016

776          RED GOSHAWK              Erythrotriorchis radiatus

Australia            (620)

Found in open forests, woodlands, especially near rivers, wetlands; rainforest fringes. 50-61 cm, span to 1.35 m, Female much larger. Range: coastal and sub-coastal n. and ne. Aust. , from Kimberley (WA), formerly s. to Sydney but rarely seen s. of Q-NSW border. Rare, declining.

CHESTNUT-QUILLED ROCK-PIGEON

Photographed in Kakadu National Park, May 2016

775         CHESTNUT-QUILLED ROCK-PIGEON           Petrophassa rufippennis

Australia             (619)

Found on sandstone escarpments, with gullies, gorges, tumbled rocks; eucalyptus, figs, other softwoods, pockets of rainforest; nearby grassy woodlands. 28-32 cm. Range: west Arnham Land (NT), from c. Oenpelli s. to Katherine R., mostly in Kakadu NP. Locally common; sedentary.

Note: clear views of two birds but these were the only photographs Until replaced.

WHITE-LINED HONEYEATER

Photographed at Gubara, Kakadu, Northern Territory May 2016

774     WHITE-LINED HONEYEATER          Meliphaga albilineata

Australia     (618)

Found in rainforests, paperbarks; eucalyptus woodlands on sandstone escarpments; hills. 19 cm. Range: nominate race n and w escarpments of Arnhem Land Plateau (NT). Race fordiana: nw Kimberley (WA). Locally common.

RUFOUS OWL

Photographed in Darwin Botanic Gardens, Darwin May 2016

773           RUFOUS OWL             Ninox rufa

Australia            (617)

Found mostly in lowland (but also some highland) rainforest; patches of monsoon forest; vine scrub, gallery forest along creeks, swamp-woodland, mangroves, eucalyptus woodlands adjacent to above habitats. 45-55 cm, male larger. Range: broken distribution in suitable habitat from Prince Regent River in nw. Kimberley (WA) to Top End (NT); and from Cape York Pen. (Q), s to near Byfield inane to Atherton Tableland-upper Burdekin R. and Blackdown Tableland NP, sw of Dingo. Dark race , queenslandica, occurs in ne Q, s of Cooktown. Rare, Sedentary.

GREEN-BACKED GERYGONE

Photographed at Buffalo Creek, Darwin May 2016

772             GREEN-BACKED GERYGONE          Gerygone chlorontus

Australia           (616)

Found in tall dense vegetation, especially near water and on scrubby escarpments: monsoon and heavy mixed forests; bamboo-thickets, paper-bark swamps, mangroves, eucalyptus forest;large fig trees, gardens. 9-10 cm. Range: coastal, sub-coastal nw Aust., from Top End (NT), incl. Groote Eylandt-Melville I. and other Is. to w. Kimberley-Broome (WA) Common, sedentary.

PARTRIDGE PIGEON

Photographed at Darwin River, May 2016

771           PARTRIDGE PIGEON               Geophaps smithii

Australia        (615)

Found in woodlands with short grass; open, rocky or sandy ground by streams, watercourses; roadsides; areas of newly burned grass or bush; seldom far from water. 25-28 cm. Range: coastal nw Aust., from Kimberley (WA), s to Cockatoo Spring; Top End (NT), s. to Mataranka-Mallapunyah; possibly into extreme nw Q. Locally common, sedentary.

RUFOUS-BANDED HONEYEATER

Photographed at Fogg Dam, Northern Territory May 2016

770             RUFOUS-BANDED HONEYEATER                 Canopophila albogularis

Australia          (614)

Found in watercourse vegetation, mangroves, paperbark, monsoon forests, eucalypt woodlands, coastal scrubs, cultivation, gardens. 12-13 cm. Range: coastal n. Aust. and islands: from Top End (NT), s. to Victoria R. Downs-Katherine-Roper R.; e. on Gulf coast to w. and ne Cape York Pen. (Q), s to c. Lakefield NP. Common.

RAINBOW PITTA

Photographed at Douglas River Crossing, Northern Territory May 2016

769            RAINBOW PITTA             Pitta Iris

Australia           (613)

Also known as Black-breasted Pitta. 16-19 cm. Found in monsoon rainforest, vine scrubs on watercourses, bamboo thickets, mangroves. Range: pockets of suitable habitat from coastal nw Kimberley and islands (WA) to Top End (NT) e to Groote Eylandt. Fairly common, sedentary.