Editing Fauna of Australia (section)

==Birds==
[[Image:Emu showing feet.jpg|thumb|The [[emu]] is the second largest extant species of bird. It is a heraldic bird, appearing on the [[coat of arms of Australia]].]]
{{Main|Birds of Australia}}
Australia and its territories are home to around 800 species of bird;<ref>Egerton, p. 122.</ref> 45% of these are endemic to Australia.<ref>{{cite book|title=Numbers of Living Species in Australia and the World|author=Chapman, A.D.|year=2009|publisher=Australian Biological Resources Study|page=14|url=http://www.environment.gov.au/system/files/pages/2ee3f4a1-f130-465b-9c7a-79373680a067/files/nlsaw-2nd-complete.pdf|edition=2nd|isbn=9780642568618|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170918185050/http://www.environment.gov.au/system/files/pages/2ee3f4a1-f130-465b-9c7a-79373680a067/files/nlsaw-2nd-complete.pdf|archive-date=18 September 2017}}</ref> The fossil record of birds in Australia is patchy; however, there are records of the ancestors of contemporary species as early as the [[Oligocene|Late Oligocene]].<ref>
[[Australian Museum]]. 2001. [https://web.archive.org/web/20080223081807/http://www.amonline.net.au/birds/research/figure1.htm Fossil history of birds: fossil history overview] Retrieved from Internet Archive 16 December 2013.</ref> Birds with a Gondwanan history include the flightless [[ratite]]s (the [[emu]] and [[southern cassowary]]),<ref>Egerton, pp. 124–125.</ref> [[megapode]]s (the [[malleefowl]] and [[Australian brush-turkey]]),<ref>Egerton, pp. 126–127.</ref> and a huge group of endemic [[Psittaciformes|parrot]]s, order Psittaciformes. Australian parrots comprise a sixth of the world's parrots,<ref>Egerton, p. 193.</ref> including many [[cockatoo]]s and [[galah]]s.<ref>Egerton, pp. 192–206.</ref> The [[kookaburra]] is the largest species of the [[kingfisher]] family, known for its call, which sounds uncannily like loud, echoing human laughter.<ref>Egerton, p. 221.</ref> The [[Brolga]] is the only crane exclusive to Australia, and it shares habitat with the more widely distributed [[Sarus crane|Sarus Cranes]].<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Sundar |first1=K. S. Gopi |last2=Grant |first2=John D. |last3=Inka |first3=Veltheim |last4=Kittur |first4=Swati |last5=Brandis |first5=Kate |last6=Michael |first6=McCarthy |last7=Scambler |first7=Elinor |date=2018 |title=Sympatric cranes in northern Australia: abundance, breeding success, habitat preference and diet |url=https://doi.org/10.1080/01584197.2018.1537673 |journal=Emu – Austral Ornithology |volume=119 |issue=1 |pages=79–89|doi=10.1080/01584197.2018.1537673 }}</ref>[[Image:Gang-gang female MJC01.jpg|left|thumb|upright|A female [[gang-gang cockatoo]]]]The [[passerine]]s of Australia, also known as songbirds or perching birds,<ref>Egerton, p. 224.</ref> include [[wren]]s,<ref>Egerton, pp. 229–236.</ref> [[Petroicidae|robin]]s,<ref>Egerton, pp. 248–250.</ref> the [[Artamidae|magpie group]],<ref>Egerton, pp. 265–268.</ref> [[Acanthiza|thornbill]]s,<ref>Egerton, p. 237.</ref> [[pardalote]]s,<ref>Egerton, pp. 233–234.</ref> the huge [[honeyeater]] family,<ref>Egerton, pp. 238–246.</ref> [[Climacteridae|treecreepers]],<ref>Egerton, p. 228.</ref> [[lyrebird]]s,<ref>Egerton, pp. 226–227.</ref> [[birds of paradise]] and [[bowerbird]]s.<ref>Egerton, pp. 268, 272.</ref> The [[satin bowerbird]] has attracted the interest of evolutionary psychologists; it has a complex courtship ritual in which the male creates a bower filled with blue, shiny items to woo mates.<ref>Egerton, p. 273.</ref>
Relatively recent colonists from [[Eurasia]] are [[Hirundinidae|swallow]]s,{{Citation needed|date=April 2010}} [[lark]]s,<ref>Egerton, p. 275.</ref> [[thrush (bird)|thrush]]es,<ref>Egerton, pp. 290–291.</ref> [[cisticola]]s, [[sunbird]]s, and some [[Bird of prey|raptors]], including the large [[wedge-tailed eagle]].{{Citation needed|date=April 2010}} A number of bird species have been introduced by humans; some, like the [[European goldfinch]] and [[European greenfinch|greenfinch]],<ref>Egerton, p. 282.</ref> coexist happily with Australian species,{{Citation needed|date=April 2010}} while others, such as the [[common starling]], [[common blackbird]], [[house sparrow]] and [[Indian mynah]], are destructive of some native bird species and thus destabilise the native ecosystem.{{Citation needed|date=April 2010}}

About 200 species of [[seabird]] live on the Australian coast, including many species of migratory seabird. Australia is at the southern end of the [[East Asian-Australasian Flyway]] for migratory water birds, which extends from [[Russian Far East|Far-East Russia]] and Alaska through [[Southeast Asia]] to Australia and New Zealand.<ref>{{Cite web |last1=Lewis |first1=Nell |last2=Lee |first2=Woojin |last3=Dotto |first3=Carlotta |title=The planet's most threatened flight path, and the $3 billion plan to protect it |url=https://www.cnn.com/interactive/2022/07/world/most-threatened-flight-path-c2e-spc/ |access-date=2024-03-22 |website=www.cnn.com}}</ref> About two million birds travel this route to and from Australia each year.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2016 |title=Wetlands and migratory shorebirds |url=https://www.dcceew.gov.au/water/wetlands/publications/factsheet-wetlands-migratory-shorebirds |website=Australian Government Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water}}</ref> One very common large seabird is the [[Australian pelican]], which can be found in most waterways in Australia.<ref>Egerton, pp. 146–147.</ref> The [[ Australian little penguin]] is the only species of [[penguin]] that breeds on mainland Australia.<ref>Egerton, p. 136.</ref>