Australia's birdlife is among the world's richest, with around 740 different species, 60% of which are endemic to the continent and its islands.

Flashes of color in the bush, accompanied by a cacaphony of raucous squawking, signal the presence of tightly-packed flocks of one or more of Australia's 55 parrot species.

Among the world's most unusual ayes is the famous Australian lyrebird, with its lyre-shaped plumes and mimicking calls that can perfectly copy even such sounds as chainsaws and ambulence sirens. Equally beautiful are the many birds of paradise, which show off their striking plumage in tropical northern Queensland and Arnhemland in the Northern Territory. A more familiar creature is the brown-and-grey emu, which stands six feet/two m high and is only second in stature to its distant cousin the ostrich. While the females of this tall, flightless species do the work of egg-laying, it's the males who take over the nest for the two-month incubation period and primarily raise the chicks for six months after they hatch. Australia's other flightless species, the cassowary, is almost as tall, lives in the rainforests of tropical Queensland, and can be identified by its bright blue crest and red wattle.