Worstbird

A large stork with a completely bare head and neck ideal for its scavenging habits. The adult’s face is red and the neck is yellow while the juvenile has a brownish head and a white, thinly-feathered neck. The upperparts are all dark while the underparts are mostly white. In flight, note the broad wings with distinctive white “armpits” and tucked in neck. Similar to the larger Greater Adjutant; Lesser has a more slender bill, has all-dark upperwings, and often adopts a more upright, less “hunched” posture. Often found in shallow marshes, fields, and swamps.

Large songbird with long decurved bill. Male almost completely black, with green and blue metallic sheen on belly, throat, and crown. Female brown above, buff below, with a sparse scaly pattern on chest and belly and a pale eyebrow. Inhabits rainforest and nearby drier forest in northern Queensland (i.e., around Cairns). Call a loud explosive hiss, often repeated. Males display from a prominent upright stump or snag, holding wings high above the head, flashing bright yellow gape, bobbing, raising wings individually, and swaying.

Rusty brown with a silvery gray head and thick black streaks all over the body. Relatively short-tailed for a barwing. Uncommon to rare inhabitant of mid- to high-altitude moist evergreen forests. Social; frequently found in small flocks and as a part of mixed species flocks. Gives a somewhat nasal “kyow-kyow-kyow-kyow.”

Tiny bird with a strong thick bill and a short tail. Males are mostly glossy dark greenish-blue with a yellow band on the forehead and are entirely yellow below. Females are olive-green above with gray sides to the head and on the center of the breast and belly with yellow flanks. Inhabits the canopy of humid forests and forests edges; often accompanying mixed-species flocks. The song is a fast series of squeaky notes.

Medium-sized elongated gull. Brown-gray overall with a long bill and dark underwings. Similar to White-eyed Gull, but with dark underwings. Slightly larger and heavier with browner adult plumage than White-eyed Gull. The bill on Sooty Gull is also thicker and clearly two-toned in all ages compared to White-eyed Gull. Coastal, breeds on islands and coral reefs.