Land Birds of Lord Howe Island

Australasian Grebe
(Tachybaptus novaehollandiae)

Little Curlew
(Numenius minutus)

Fan-tailed Cuckoo
(Cacomantis flabelliformis)

Australian Wood Duck
(Chenonetta jubata)

Black-winged Stilt
(Himantopus himantopus)

Whimbrel
(Numenius phaeopus)

Australian White Ibis
(Threskiornis molucca)

Lord Howe Island Hybrid Duck

Australian Shelduck
(Tadorna tadornoides)

Grey Teal
(Anas Gracilis)

Hardhead Duck
(Aythya australis)

Pacific Golden Plover
(Pluvialis fulva)

Double-banded Plover
(Charadrius bicinctus)

Bar-tailed Godwit
(Limosa limosa)

Red Knot
(Calidris canutus)

Ruddy Turnstone
(Arenaria interpres)

Buff-banded Rail
(Gallirallus philippensis)

Tree Martin
(Petrochelidon nigricans)

Common Greenshank
(Tringa nebularia)

Masked Lapwing
(Vanellus miles)

Dollarbird
(Eurystomus orientalis)

Shining Bronze-Cuckoo
(Chalcites lucidus)

Cattle Egret
(Ardea ibis)

Welcome Swallow
(Hirundo neoxena)

Swamp Harrier
(Circus approximans)

Purple Swamphen
(Porphyrio porphyrio)

Magpie Lark
(Grallina cyanoleuca)

Emerald Ground-dove
(Chalcophaps indica)

Australian Masked Owl
(Tyto novaehollandiae)

Barn Owl
(Tyto alba)

White-faced Heron
(Ardea novaehollandiae)

Lord Howe White-eye
(Zosterops tephropleura)

Australian Kestrel
(Falco cenchroides)

Lord Howe Island Currawong
(Strepera graculina crissalis)

Sacred Kingfisher
(Todiramphus sanctus)

Lord Howe Golden Whistler
(Pachycephala petoralis contempta)

Woodhen
(Tricholimnas sylvestris)

The Lord Howe Island group consists of a total of 28 islands. The land birds of Lord Howe Island breed on the largest island in the group, Lord Howe. At times you may see some of the land birds from Lord Howe on the smaller outer islands.

A flightless bird, once one of the rarest birds in the World. The Woodhen was almost made extinct by wild pigs and man; lucky for some they survived on the top of Mt Gower. They dwindled as low as 17 pair. In the 1980’s 6 birds were taken into a captive breeding program under the instruction of Glen Fraser. The program worked a treat. Wild pigs had to be knocked out so birds could be put back into the wild. Ray Shick and Gower Wilson were employed by the LHI Board to do the job after a failed attempt by a mainland expert!! Shick and Wilson killed around 200 pigs. The Woodhen rules the ground on Lord Howe common in most resident’s gardens. Numbers now exceed 300 birds.

A wingspan of about 1200mm with a long neck and long yellow legs, this guy is common here. You can find them most days at the Swamp at the east end of the runway or the wet areas near the golf course. Breeds here; nest of sticks that is hard to find.

Here most of the year a very shy bird. Hard to get close to get a good picture. You will see him on the golf course and airstrip grass. Not big numbers but not hard to find. A wide spread wader breeding across much of Subarctic North America, Europe and Asia

Great little bird arrived here in the 1970 and has stayed, breeds on the island their nests are made out of mud. You can find them over cattle paddocks and bodies of fresh water.

The size of a swallow, there were about 6 of these over here this winter 2011. Not common on the island, very hard to get a photo as they are so small and very fast.

Wingspan 1400mm body weight of 480g
Swamp Harrier will fly to Lord Howe about once a year, only one or two. They tend to arrive here in about May when the Shearwater chicks are fat and plump and make easy pickings. Thought to be coming from NZ a flight of 850 N miles.

Wingspan 1400mm body weight of 480g
Swamp Harrier will fly to Lord Howe about once a year, only one or two. They tend to arrive here in about May when the Shearwater chicks are fat and plump and make easy pickings. Thought to be coming from NZ a flight of 850 N miles.

Body length of 200mm
The kingfisher is a great little bird. They breed on the island. Very fast flyer so hard to get a photo on the wing. Can be found on fence posts along the airstrip road most of the year. They will eat worms, insects and fish.

Here for most of the summer months breeds Artic circle, Alaska, Northern Canada and Russia to name a few. Amazing that a small bird can fly that far!! You can find them here in big numbers on the airport grass and on the beach at low tide.

A tiny little bird would only be about 50g in weight. Not common on the island but a few fly through each year stopping for a short rest. Breeding along the Arctic littoral of Eastern Europe and spending the non-breeding season as far south as NZ. A migratory bird.

A tiny little bird would only be about 50g in weight. Not common on the island but a few fly through each year stopping for a short rest. Breeding along the Arctic littoral of Eastern Europe and spending the non-breeding season as far south as NZ. A migratory bird.

A large purple and black bird with red bill and legs, flew in here around 1987 and stayed. They like to hang around swampy areas like the golf club and the swamp at the east end of the runway.

Red-necked Stint
(Calidris ruficollis)

Great little bird this guy is here almost all year until he heads off to breed. They change into breeding plumage before they leave the island. You can find large numbers at the airport and on the beach. Breeds in northern Asia into western Alaska.

Arrived on the island in 1991 and stayed. They breed here now in open paddocks. Will defend their nest or chick with gusto swooping low over your head. Easy to find in open paddocks.

A really beautiful bird of prey. Masked and Barn Owls were introduced to the island in the 40’s to try and rid the island of rats. Until recently we thought that the Masked Owl was the only Owl here. I photographed this bird in November 2011 and he has been positively identified as a Barn Owl. Has he been here since the 1940’s or do they fly through here?

Black and white bird introduced here in the 1920’s. It’s common name is Peewee, breeds on the island. They make there nest out of mud usually hi up in a large tree. Easy to find in any paddock or grassy area. You can tell male and female apart the male has black around the base of bill, the female has white.

Wingspan around 100mm.
Only a small bird common in the lowland forest and mountains. Breeds here nest hard to find. Loves to eat fruit, not liked around local gardens. Very fast on the wing.

Body length of 170mm
A beautiful little forest bird, common on the island. The male has a gold to yellow chest and belly, white throat and black band between the two colours. Female brownish in colour. They breed on the island hard to find their nest.

Some black ducks arrived at the island in the 1970 and decided to breed here. Some time later NZ Mallard Ducks arrived. These two have crossed in together producing this LHI Hybrid Duck. Here all the time, there are measures to try and eradicate them from the island with little success. One now is almost white!!

A unique Lord Howe Island subspecies, common in the forest around the island walking tracks. Very smart bird. Will follow you around in the forest as you walk and eye you off. Has babies by November.

A few of these here in 2011 not in big numbers. I photographed this one near the airport. Breeds in the far north of Siberia, any wonder he looked stuffed!! A strongly migratory species wintering in Australasia.

See this one once in a while, blown off course I would think. A large duck. Common in the south east of Australia will go as far as NZ in times of drought.

Five of these arrived in the year 2011, great looking duck. I only got the one good shot as they didn’t stay for long. They breed in Australia and NZ.

A small colourful bird with a body size of 160mm -180mm who shows up at LHI most years. An insect feeder. This tiny land bird passes through Lord Howe on it way to New Zealand to breed.

A bird common in the forests and along the sides of the road, beautiful green wings. The male bird a bit brighter than the female. Breeds on the island their nest made out of twigs. Very fast flyer, I haven’t captured one the wing yet.

We get these hear each year not in big numbers just ones and twos. Tiny little bird you can find them at the airport and on the beach at low tide. Breeds in NZ and migrates to Australia to over winter.

This guy was blown in here in Autumn this year 2011, I had never seen one here before. Beautiful to watch on the wing very fast as they dive and catch insects.

I only got this bird the last week 10/12/11. A first for me but has been recorded here before. He only stayed for about 3 days then kept going. Looks like Terek Sandpiper. This is a subarctic bird, breeding from northern Scotland eastwards across northern Europe and Asia. A migratory species.

Large all white bird, they stop over here for a while on their way to NZ. They breed in Northern NSW. You can find them in early winter to early summer around cows in paddocks. Some may decide to breed here one day.

A small rail with more colour in the chest than the Woodhen. The Woodhen is mostly brown. Has been breeding here now for about 20 years, over the last 10 years their numbers have exploded almost to becoming a pest. Not a good bird to have in your garden they will eat anything.

Only been seen here four times, a very attractive bird but not a strong looking flyer. Long red legs trailing in flight. Breeds in central Asia.

A large wader here most of the year, some stay all year. Wingspan of 700mm. You can find them here on the airstrip grass and on the beach at low tide. They change colour before they breed. Breed in Africa, Asia and Europe. It makes the longest non-stop flight of any bird without stopping for food of 11,680 km from Alaska to NZ.

A really beautiful bird of prey. Masked and Barn Owls were introduced to the island in the 40’s to try and rid the island of rats. Until recently we thought that the Masked Owl was the only Owl here. I photographed this bird in November 2011 and he has been positively identified as a Barn Owl. Has he been here since the 1940’s or do they fly through here?

This one has been here for about a week now 18/12/11. Not a common Duck for the island. Found throughout most of Australia, not sure what he was doing here?

One of these blow in once in a while will stay if more than one comes I think.

One dropped in this year (2011) they have been here before. Beautiful looking large duck. Breeds in southern Australia and Tasmania.

A great little bird of prey, not a lot of them on the island. You can find them along the lagoon bank, Blinky beach dune and Malabar. Breeds here spring, summer. Will hover into the wind whilst stalking prey.

This little bird arrived here this year (2011) and stayed for about three months. Hard to get a picture of him as he would always go to the middle of the swamp, rather timid. Common in Australia, NZ and near by Pacific islands.

"Since the Rodent Eradication in 2019 both Owl species have been eliminated."

"Since the Rodent Eradication in 2019 both Owl species have been eliminated."

Black-tailed Godwit
(Limosa lapponica)

Not a common bird at LHI, can be found on the east coast of Australia. Migrates down south from their breeding grounds in southern Siberia. We tend to see lots more of the Bar-tailed Godwit here.

Canada Goose
(Branta canadensis)

Rare in Australia, I have seen this bird show up here several times. It's thought that it has flown across from New Zealand where it's common.

Red-necked Phalarope (Phalaropus lobatus)

This tiny little bird, 100mm wingspan and weight of 30 gram was spotted by me from my boat out near Balls Pyramid, first record for Lord Howe. The pics I managed to get aren't great as the bird is so small and he wouldn't let me get close. Nests in the Arctic, migrate south in non breeding times. Not common, chances of seeing one low.

Swift Parrot
(Lathamus discolor)

Only one record befor of a dead one found here. This amazing little guy managed to get here against the odds. They breed in Tasmania then migrate across Bass strait to spend Autumn and Winter in se Australia. We managed to catch him and return this bird to Taronga Zoo where he was brought back to health and eventually released back to the wild. A critically endangered species

Royal Spoonbill
(Platalea regia)

This bird shows up here every once in a while, there isn't the habitat for a Spoonbill here so they usually perish before they can make it back to Australia. Wide spread through Australia.

Marsh Sandpiper
(Tringa stagnatilis)

Not common at LHI, I have only seen this bird here once before, I wasn't able to get great shots as a very shy bird. Inhabits inland wetlands. He migrates down to Australia from temperate northern latitudes.

Wandering Tattler
(Tringa incana)

Not an easy bird to find on the Island but they are about most years. I normally see them on rock ledges on the outer islands from my boat. This one was on the beach going through the seaweed after a storm. Uncommon in Australia, they migrate from west Alaska. Hard to tell apart from Grey tailed tattler.

Grey Fantail
(Rhipidura albiscapa)

There once was an endemic Fantail on LHI, since the removal of rats and mice in 2019 we have seen a few of this beautiful little bird show up on the Island, wingspan 79mm. One day soon a pair will stay and start to breed again. Lots of different subspecies but common all over Australia.

European Goldfinch
(Carduelis carduelis)

A tiny bird, smaller than a house sparrow. Wingspan 70mm. Amazing that this bird can fly all the way across the ocean and find LHI. Found in Victoria and NSW. I have also seen the European Greenfinch here as well but have no pictures.

Dusky Moorhen
(Gallinula tenebrosa)

Around the same size as a Coot, this bird has been here many times. Found through NSW and Queensland loves fresh water lakes, rivers and swamps.

Little Grass Bird
(Megalurus gramineus)

A Medium to small bird, very hard to spot as they love to hide in thick foliage. A very distinctive call of piping whistles p-pee-pee. This little guy has only been on LHI for around 1.5 years now and has had 2 clutches of chicks.

Brown Falcon
(Falco subniger)

This bird of prey only has been seen here a few times before, Medium sized bird, wingspan of 400mm. He didn't hang around at LHI for long as the local Currawong harassed him until he flew back to Australia.

Eurasian Coot
(Fulica atra)

These are a reasonably regular visitor to LHI. They are a common water bird found all over Australia. Once the water dried up they headed back to the Australia, we had around 13 of them here in April 2023.

Australian Spotted Crake
(Porzana fluminea)

This was the first record of this Crake on LHI, a small rail-like bird who likes to hide in dark damp places. We found him deep in the foliage at Cobbies creek in March 2023.