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Australia Australia Important Bird Area

Wyperfeld, Big Desert and Ngarkat Important Bird Area

94 bird species recorded; the most in October.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec69at the peak
Species recorded in each month · tap a month

Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 by EOX IT Services GmbH (contains modified Copernicus Sentinel data), CC BY 4.0, with relief shading from Copernicus WorldDEM-30

This month here

15 species in January.

The birds you are most likely to see in the month you choose, those that come for the season first. It opens on today's month.

Tawny-crowned Honeyeater
Tawny-crowned HoneyeaterGliciphila melanopsWinter visitorDavid Stowe · CC BY-SA 3.0
Red-capped Robin
Red-capped RobinPetroica goodenoviiSummer visitorJJ Harrison ( https://www.jjharrison.com.au/ ) · CC BY-SA 4.0
Spotted Nightjar
Spotted NightjarEurostopodus argusSummer visitorChristopher Watson ( http://www.comebirdwatching.blogspot.com/ ) · CC BY-SA 3.0
Striated PardalotePardalotus striatusSummer visitor
White-eared Honeyeater
White-eared HoneyeaterNesoptilotis leucotisResidentPeter Firminger from Wollombi, Australia · CC BY 2.0
White-fronted Honeyeater
White-fronted HoneyeaterPurnella albifronsResidentPeter Jacobs from Australia · CC BY-SA 2.0
Grey Shrikethrush
Grey ShrikethrushColluricincla harmonicaResidentJJ Harrison · CC BY-SA 3.0
Australian Golden Whistler
Australian Golden WhistlerPachycephala pectoralisResidentJohn Manger, CSIRO · CC BY 3.0
Purple-gaped Honeyeater
Purple-gaped HoneyeaterLichenostomus cratitiusResidentBushie · CC BY 2.0
Grey Butcherbird
Grey ButcherbirdCracticus torquatusResidentTatiana Gerus · CC BY 2.0
Purple-backed Fairywren
Purple-backed FairywrenMalurus assimilisResidentChristopher Watson ( http://www.comebirdwatching.blogspot.com/ ) · CC BY-SA 3.0
Chestnut-rumped Thornbill
Chestnut-rumped ThornbillAcanthiza uropygialisResidentWatchthebirdie · CC BY-SA 3.0
New Holland Honeyeater
New Holland HoneyeaterPhylidonyris novaehollandiaeResidentJJ Harrison ( https://www.jjharrison.com.au/ ) · CC BY-SA 2.5
  • Resident all year
  • Summer visitor comes to breed
  • Winter visitor comes for the winter
  • Passage migrant in spring and autumn

In numbers

94 species, counted.

51out of 100

Our own rating, from the records only: species (50 points), threatened species (20), migrants (20) and protected status — Ramsar, IBA, SPA, observatory (10).

  • 94Speciesrecorded more than once
  • 27Migrantssummer, winter or passage visitors
  • 3ThreatenedVulnerable, Endangered or Critically Endangered (IUCN)
  • 1,699Recordsopen records within 6 km
  • 100 mAltitudeabove the sea
  • 7Raptors
  • 2Ducks & geese
  • 3Herons, ibises & grebes
  • 62Songbirds
  • 20Other birds

From open records (eBird and others, through GBIF, licensed for any use). More birdwatchers mean more records: a quiet place may have more birds than it shows.

The checklist

All 94 species.

By group, with the year in twelve cells: the darker the cell, the more often the bird is recorded that month.

Raptors7 species
JFMAMJJASOND
  • Brown FalconFalco berigora
  • Brown GoshawkAccipiter fasciatus
  • Collared SparrowhawkAccipiter cirrocephalus
  • Wedge-tailed EagleAquila audax
  • Nankeen KestrelFalco cenchroides
  • Little EagleHieraaetus morphnoides
  • Australian hobbyFalco longipennis
Ducks & geese2 species
JFMAMJJASOND
  • Maned DuckChenonetta jubata
  • Pacific Black DuckAnas superciliosa
Herons, ibises & grebes3 species
JFMAMJJASOND
  • White-faced HeronEgretta novaehollandiae
  • White-necked HeronArdea pacifica
  • Little Black CormorantPhalacrocorax sulcirostris
Songbirds62 species
JFMAMJJASOND
  • Tawny-crowned HoneyeaterGliciphila melanops
  • White-eared HoneyeaterNesoptilotis leucotis
  • Inland ThornbillAcanthiza apicalis
  • Spiny-cheeked HoneyeaterAcanthagenys rufogularis
  • WeebillSmicrornis brevirostris
  • Shy HeathwrenCalamanthus cautus
  • White-fronted HoneyeaterPurnella albifrons
  • Grey ShrikethrushColluricincla harmonica
  • Spotted PardalotePardalotus punctatus
  • Australian Golden WhistlerPachycephala pectoralis
  • Brown-headed HoneyeaterMelithreptus brevirostris
  • Purple-gaped HoneyeaterLichenostomus cratitius
  • Southern Scrub RobinDrymodes brunneopygia
  • Grey ButcherbirdCracticus torquatus
  • Crested BellbirdOreoica gutturalis
  • Yellow-plumed HoneyeaterPtilotula ornata
  • Australian RavenCorvus coronoides
  • White-browed BabblerPomatostomus superciliosus
  • Willie-wagtailRhipidura leucophrys
  • Splendid FairywrenMalurus splendens
  • Red WattlebirdAnthochaera carunculata
  • Purple-backed FairywrenMalurus assimilis
  • Red-capped RobinPetroica goodenovii
  • Grey CurrawongStrepera versicolor
  • Australian MagpieGymnorhina tibicen
  • White-browed WoodswallowArtamus superciliosus
  • Chestnut-rumped ThornbillAcanthiza uropygialis
  • Striated PardalotePardalotus striatus
  • New Holland HoneyeaterPhylidonyris novaehollandiae
  • Red-lored WhistlerPachycephala rufogularisVU
  • SilvereyeZosterops lateralis
  • Slender-billed ThornbillAcanthiza iredalei
  • Hooded RobinMelanodryas cucullata
  • Chestnut-backed Quail-thrushCinclosoma castanotum
  • White-backed SwallowCheramoeca leucosterna
  • Black-faced CuckooshrikeCoracina novaehollandiae
  • Buff-rumped ThornbillAcanthiza reguloides
  • Yellow-rumped ThornbillAcanthiza chrysorrhoa
  • Rhipidura albiscapaRhipidura albiscapa
  • Masked WoodswallowArtamus personatus
  • Striated GrasswrenAmytornis striatus
  • Magpie larkGrallina cyanoleuca
  • White-fronted ChatEpthianura albifrons
  • Varied SittellaDaphoenositta chrysoptera
  • Rufous WhistlerPachycephala rufiventris
  • Common StarlingSturnus vulgaris
  • Rufous CalamanthusCalamanthus campestris
  • Yellow-throated MinerManorina flavigula
  • Tree MartinPetrochelidon nigricans
  • Little RavenCorvus mellori
  • Mallee Emu-wrenStipiturus mallee
  • Australasian PipitAnthus novaeseelandiae
  • Dusky WoodswallowArtamus cyanopterus
  • Gilbert's WhistlerPachycephala inornata
  • Singing HoneyeaterGavicalis virescens
  • Striated FieldwrenCalamanthus fuliginosus
  • Jacky-winterMicroeca fascinans
  • Western Whipbird (Black-throated)Psophodes nigrogularis
  • Yellow ThornbillAcanthiza nana
  • Australian White-winged TrillerLalage tricolor
  • White-naped HoneyeaterMelithreptus lunatus
  • Welcome SwallowHirundo neoxena
Other birds20 species
JFMAMJJASOND
  • GalahEolophus roseicapilla
  • Common BronzewingPhaps chalcoptera
  • EmuDromaius novaehollandiae
  • Australian Owlet-NightjarAegotheles cristatus
  • Spotted NightjarEurostopodus argus
  • Brush BronzewingPhaps elegans
  • Rainbow Bee-eaterMerops ornatus
  • Mulga ParrotPsephotellus varius
  • Australian RingneckBarnardius zonarius
  • MalleefowlLeipoa ocellataVU
  • Fan-tailed CuckooCacomantis flabelliformis
  • Australian BustardArdeotis australis
  • Horsfield's Bronze CuckooChrysococcyx basalis
  • Black-tailed NativehenGallinula ventralis
  • Australian CrakePorzana fluminea
  • Little Button-quailTurnix velox
  • Regent ParrotPolytelis anthopeplus
  • Blue-winged ParrotNeophema chrysostomaVU
  • Black-eared CuckooChrysococcyx osculans
  • Purple-crowned LorikeetParvipsitta porphyrocephala

Monthly presence relative to all bird records that month, so a busy month does not inflate every species.

When to go

The most species in October.

Species recorded in each month, with the usual temperature and rain.

  1. Jan1533°/16°23 mm
  2. Feb2132°/16°17 mm
  3. Mar5328°/14°24 mm
  4. Apr5224°/10°23 mm
  5. May2818°/7°25 mm
  6. Jun2815°/5°29 mm
  7. Jul1915°/4°29 mm
  8. Aug2316°/5°30 mm
  9. Sep4220°/6°30 mm
  10. Oct6924°/9°23 mm
  11. Nov5928°/12°27 mm
  12. Dec3431°/14°29 mm
  • Bar: species recorded that month.
  • Temperature: average maximum / minimum (NASA, 1991–2020).
  • Rain: monthly total.

The place

Wyperfeld, Big Desert and Ngarkat Important Bird Area.

Important Bird Area in Victoria, Australia

Wyperfeld, Big Desert and Ngarkat Important Bird Area is an Important Bird Area (BirdLife) in Australia.

94 bird species have been recorded here more than once, in 1,699 open records.

The most recorded are the Tawny-crowned Honeyeater, the White-eared Honeyeater and the Inland Thornbill.

13 species come for the summer, 9 for the winter and 5 only pass through.

3 are threatened worldwide, including Red-lored Whistler, Malleefowl and Blue-winged Parrot.

The most species are recorded in October.

Wyperfeld, Big Desert and Ngarkat Important Bird Area seen from above (Sentinel-2)
Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 by EOX IT Services GmbH (contains modified Copernicus Sentinel data), CC BY 4.0, with relief shading from Copernicus WorldDEM-30

Get there and watch

Plan the visit

A guided walk, a bed nearby, a car.

Some links above are affiliate links: if you book through them we may earn a commission, at no extra cost to you. It never changes what the data on this page says.

From above

The place and its surroundings.

The satellite image of the 6 × 6 km around the place, with the bird hides, towers and trails that OpenStreetMap shows.

Wyperfeld, Big Desert and Ngarkat Important Bird Area seen from above (Sentinel-2)
Seen from above: Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 (EOX, CC BY 4.0), 6 × 6 km, north up. Points © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Around, in OpenStreetMap

    • bird hides within 6 km
    • observation towers within 6 km
    • marked trails within 4 km
    • visitor centres within 6 km
    • viewpoints within 5 km
    • car parks within 3 km
    • restaurants and cafés within 3 km
    • campsites within 10 km
    • places to stay within 10 km

    Counted in OpenStreetMap, the map anyone can edit. A low number may just mean nobody has mapped it yet.

    In our other atlases

    Around Wyperfeld, Big Desert and Ngarkat Important Bird Area.

    The lakes, beaches, islands, rivers and mountains around this place, and its night sky, in the family's atlases.

    Peakyas2 mountains within 25 km
    Big Billy · 10 kmLittle Billy · 16 km

    Figures from the sister sites' databases (Wikidata, HydroATLAS, GeoNames, OpenStreetMap). Links open when each site is online.

    Other places nearby.

    Wyperfeld, Big Desert and Ngarkat Important Bird Area

    Australia

    • 51Birdyas Score
    • 94Species
    • 27Migrants
    • 3Threatened

    Lake Albacutya

    Australia · 60 km

    • 71Birdyas Score
    • 189Species
    • 67Migrants
    • 6Threatened

    See the guide

    Murray-Sunset, Hattah and Annuello Important Bird Area

    Australia · 99 km

    • 51Birdyas Score
    • 77Species
    • 34Migrants
    • 3Threatened

    See the guide

    Hattah - Kulkyne National Park

    Australia · 143 km

    • 65Birdyas Score
    • 214Species
    • 53Migrants
    • 4Threatened

    See the guide

    Where these figures come from

    Name and typeWikidata (Q8040434) · CC0
    Birds1,699 open bird records within 6 km (GBIF, CC0 and CC BY 4.0 only; mostly eBird, Cornell Lab of Ornithology)
    See these recordsgbif.org
    SpeciesGBIF Backbone Taxonomy · CC BY 4.0; Wikidata (CC0); Wikimedia Commons
    AltitudeCopernicus DEM GLO-30 · © DLR e.V., © Airbus Defence and Space GmbH, Copernicus/ESA
    Temperature and rainNASA POWER (CERES SYN1deg, 2001–2020; MERRA-2)
    What is around© OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL
    ImagesEOX Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 · CC BY 4.0; Wikimedia Commons
    Sister atlasesPeakyas

    Every figure is an average, an estimate or a count from a public dataset. Licences and methods: data sources.

    The family

    Do you prefer beaches, lakes, mountains, waterfalls, islands, rivers, canyons, caves, dark skies, viewpoints, birdwatching or forests?

    Same idea, other landscapes: field atlases built on open data, in seven languages.