Australia is an absolute paradise for twitchers. From our beautiful bin chickens and backyard bush turkeys to cackling kookaburras and mischievous magpies, we have more native bird species than almost anywhere else in the world. Out of the 850-odd species found in Australia, one rainbow-loving loudmouth rules the roost, ranking as the number one most commonly spotted bird nationwide last year.
This result comes from BirdLife Australia’s annual Aussie Bird Count, which is the largest citizen science event across the country. More than 57,000 twitchers took part in 2024, counting a whopping 4.1 million birds as part of the week-long event.
The vibrant rainbow lorikeet soared into first place as Australia’s number one most spotted bird – a title it’s held since the Aussie Bird Count launched in 2014. This colourful chatterbox was also the most counted bird in New South Wales, Victoria, South Australia, Western Australia and Queensland, while the sulphur-crested cockatoo was the most spotted in the ACT, the magpie goose took the top spot in the Northern Territory and the silver gull claimed first in Tasmania.
The noisy miner (a native honeyeater) came in second, with the Australian magpie placing third. While the black and white bandit didn’t beat the rainbow lorikeet in the overall tally, the magpie was actually the bird spotted by the most participants across the country, with almost 50 per cent of birdwatchers recording a sighting. Magpies are typically spotted in pairs or small groups, while rainbow lorikeets tend to fly in flocks of up to hundreds, giving them a clear numbers advantage.
Only one bird in the top ten was introduced to Australia, the house sparrow, with the full rankings listed below.
The top 10 most spotted birds in Australia:
- Rainbow lorikeet
- Noisy miner
- Australian magpie
- Sulphur-crested cockatoo
- Welcome swallow
- Galah
- Silver gull
- White ibis
- House sparrow
- Little corella
You can join the 2025 Aussie Bird Count, which will take place from October 20-26, and find out more here.