Black and white, with the pattern varying across its range. The back of its neck, upper tail and shoulders (on its wings) are white in males and grey in females, and (across most of Australia) the rest of its body is black. In south-eastern, central and south-western Australia, including Tasmania, its back and rump are entirely white. Its eye is red-brown. Young birds are usually grey rather than black and have dark eyes.
Distinctive feature
One toe faces backwards and three face forwards. It has a square-tipped tail.
A medium shorebird with long skinny legs and a long beak. The Oystercatcher has a black head and black with a white belly, orange-red eyes, and very distinctive orange legs and beak.
Size
50 cm long (from head to tail)
Grey, grey-brown to olive green body with patches of cream. It has black bands running across its body and tail and a "crest" of spines which start on its head and extend down its back and along its tail. Its belly is creamy-white to creamy brown-grey and the larger, breeding males have a red-orange chest and throat. One of two subspecies also has a broad black stripe running from behind its eye to its ear. It has long, powerful legs and a long, strong tail with flattened sides to assist with swimming. There are loose folds of skin under its jaw.
Juveniles are light brown and their head and feet appear large for their body size.
Size
Around 80 - 90 cm long (nose to end of tail) two-thirds of which is tail. Males are bigger than females.
Also known as Blueberry Lily, a long, feathery shrub with flowers sticking up above the leaves.
Long green pointy leaves with vibrant blue to purple inflorescences (flower clusters). Grows up to 1.5 m high.
Leaves
Long, feathery, smooth green leaves. 15 - 85 cm long with 4 - 15 mm width. Pointy ends and long and stiff throughout. Can sometimes appear red towards base but this is rare.
Flowers
Flowers stick up above the leaves, consisting of 6 purple petals (7 - 12 mm length) and 6 stamens (pollen-bearing part of the flower) in a ring. These are long, thick and have brown to black tips with yellow stems.
Its pear-shaped float (bottle) is a translucent blue, with a wrinkled top which might be tinged with green or pink. It has a single main tentacle, and many shorter tentacles, all of which are blue and hang from its float.
It is not a single animal but rather a colony of four kinds of individuals known as polyps. Each polyp has its own function: one is the float, another captures food, another digests the food, and another is responsible for reproduction.
Size
Float is 2 – 15 cm long, and tentacles up to 10 m.
It has a blue float made of a flat, circular disc with many gas-filled tubes which keep it afloat. The disc is surrounded by tiny blue tentacles.
The Blue Button is, in fact, a colony made up of different types of polyps, including some that are specialised for catching food, defense, or reproduction.
Size
Its disc is up to 2.5 cm across.
Small marine snails (molluscs), often called Australwinks.
They are light blue to grey in colour and have a smooth shell that spirals up to a light brown to reddish-brown sharp tip (apex).
Size
10 - 15 mm
A very large brown seaweed (algae). It has dark brown leathery, strap-like branches (thallus).
It attaches to the substrate by a large disc or conical-shaped holdfast. Usually there is a single leathery frond (stalk) from the holdfast, which divides into long segments or fronds.
Its strong holdfast often pulls off pieces of granite during storms which can remain attached to the kelp when washed up on shore.
The caterpillar (larva) is initially pale yellow with fine hairs, before turning green. It has narrow yellow lines on its body which are sometimes hard to see. The upper side of the butterfly (adult) is white with a black tip on its forewing (front wing) and a black patch on the front edge of its hindwing. A male has one black spot on its forewing, while a female has two black spots. Looking from underneath, the forewing is white with two black spots and the hindwing is yellow.
Size
Caterpillar about 3.5 cm; Butterfly up to 5 cm wingspan.
Tree to 25 m high; bark grey-brown, thick, roughly tessellated (mosaic-like). Its smaller branches are striated (striped with parallel longitudinal ridges or lines).
Leaves
- Often whorled (arranged as a ring of leaves), lance-shaped and sometimes broadest in the upper third
- 4 – 10 cm long and 1 – 3.5 cm wide
- Coloured differently on the two surfaces: upper surface dark green, dull to shiny; lower surface white and covered with dense intertwined hairs
- Pointed or having a broad shallow notch at the tip
- Adult leaves have entire margins while juveniles will have a few short teeth, flat or slightly curved backwards
Flowers
Flowers mainly January - June. Pale yellow cylindrical spikes forming a bottle-brush shape. Each flower head is 6 – 12 cm long, 5 – 8 cm wide and attracts insects and nectar-eating birds.
A member of the mint family. Rosemary refers to the shape of the plant and not the scent.
Large shrub, up to 2 m high and 5 m wide.
Leaves
Dark green leaves with short hairs on the underside. Up to 2 cm long, narrow and pointed and close to the stem. Dense foliage.
Flowers
2 cm across, forming a fan-shape around the stem. White or pale pruple with reddish and yellow spots near the throat.
Field Guide
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Its genus name Leptospermum is from Greek leptos (thin) and sperma (seed), referring to its small seeds; and its species name laevigatum is from Latin laevigatus (smooth), probably referring to the appearance of the plant.
Also known as Australian Myrtle and Victorian Tea Tree.
A tall, bushy shrub or small tree, with bark that sheds in strips. Grows up to 6 m tall.
Leaves
Grey-green and obovate (egg-shaped and flat, with the narrow end attached to the stalk). They are 1.5 – 3 cm long and 5 – 8 mm wide.
Flowers
White and usually in groups of two. The flower heads are usually 1.5 – 2 cm in diameter, and made up of five petals that are 5 – 8 mm long, with many stamens protruding from the centre that are 2 mm long.
The caterpillar (larva) is initially a pale yellow-grey, before turning green with long black hairs along its body. Its head is brown-black with short hairs. The female butterfly (adult) is orange with creamy yellow and dark brown patches towards the tip of its forewings (front wings). The male is less colourful, being brown and orange with no pale patches. It also has an obvious raised vein in the middle of its forewing. Both males and females have a small eye-spot on each wing. The undersides of the wings in both the male and female are paler with faint markings, and their hindwings have very few markings. The female’s hindwing is darker then its forewing. It is difficult to identify these butterflies when they are resting with their wings closed. The males emerge quite a while earlier in the year before the females.
Size
Caterpillar about 3.5 cm long; Butterfly wingspan 5.5 – 7.5 cm (females are larger than males).
A type of sea squirt, an animal that forms large colonies as a dense mat over rocks which are highly visible at low tide.
Its shape is squat and globular. It has a thick leathery outer layer called a ‘tunic’ which is often covered with brown or green algae. Cylindrical in shape with 2 openings called siphons for inhaling and exhaling water and feeding.
This frog goes by several common names: Eastern Banjo Frog, Eastern Pobblebonk Frog and Southern Bullfrog. The first two are based on its distinctive 'bonk' call which sounds similar to the string of a banjo being plucked.
Its back ranges from grey, to olive-green, dark brown or black, with dark marbling or flecks. It has a pale yellow stripe running from under its eye to its arm, a dark band above this, and may also have a pale stripe running down its back. Its sides commonly have a purple or bronze sheen, mottled with black. Its belly is white and sometimes mottled with grey. Its back is warty and rough but its belly is smooth.
Distinctive feature
A prominent gland on the outer side of its hind leg (its shin) and a fleshy lump at the base of each hind foot.
The adult male is a distinctive glossy black tinged with iridescent blue and green all over, including its long tail, and it has a striking red eye. The female is glossy brown with white spots on top, and buff-cream underneath with many fine black bars running across its belly. The top of its head is black or brown with pale streaks, and its tail is brown with white bars running across it. A young bird looks like an adult female but has buff barring on its wings and generally much more buff colouring.
The top of the adult male's head is grey-black, extending in a line down either side of its white breast. Its throat is also white, with a rufous patch in the centre. Its wings and lower back are dark metallic grey and its upper back and underneath are buff. In flight, its white outer tail feathers are visible. The female has similar but duller colouring. A young bird has less distinct markings with dark olive on top of its head, a white chin and throat and a cinnamon chest and belly.
Distinctive feature
It has a very long, fine beak that curves downward.
Bright yellow and black bands across its abdomen, with a pair of black spots and a black triangle on each yellow band. It has yellow legs, black antennae and two pairs of transparent wings. Nests are commonly built underground with only their small entrance holes visible, which are about 2 - 3 cm across.
Size
1.2 – 1.5 cm long (worker); 2 cm long (queen)
A beetle with a shiny black back and head with bright yellow-green markings, and dark brown to black legs.
Distinctive feature
Violin-shaped markings on its back (after which it is named).
Size
About 2 cm
Its genus name Epicris means upon (epi) and a summit (acris), referring to the altitude where some species occur; and its species name longiflora means long (longus) and flower (florus), referring to the long, narrow flowers.
An upright to spreading evergreen shrub, typically straggly with branches arching towards the ground, 0.5 – 2 m high.
Leaves
With pointed tip and wide base, they are often described as heart-shaped. Each leaf is 5 – 17 mm long, 3 – 6.6 mm wide, and has slightly serrated margins. It is thin, flat, and sometimes has a rough upper surface.
Flowers
Long and tubular, some have pink-red tubes and white lobes (tips), others are all white. They are 5 – 6 mm in diameter and 12 – 27 mm long, with the lobes being 2.4 – 4.4 mm long. They grow in rows along the branches and are upright at first and then hang down as they reach maturity.
Grey-brown to bronze, with a dark stripe running along each side of its body from its nostril, across its eye to its tail, getting wider from its front legs. Its body pales below the stripe to a cream belly.
This species has a lighter body with a less obvious stripe running along its sides than the Southern Garden Skink.
Size
8 - 10 cm (nose to end of tail).
Grey-brown to bronze, with a dark stripe running along each side of its body from its nostril, across its eye to its tail, getting wider from its front legs. Its body pales below the stripe to a cream belly.
This species has a ‘heavier’ looking body and a more obvious stripe running along its sides, compared to the Northern Garden Skink.
Size
8 - 10 cm (nose to end of tail).
Barnacles are small invertebrates that live inside hard circular or pyramid-like structures made from calcium-carbonate. They are distinguished by their size: they are taller than they are round and have similar shape to a volcano. They can be found singularly or in a group.
Giant rock barnacles are the largest type of barnacle and are comprised of six large plates that are white to light green in colour, and have top to bottom (transverse) grooves on them. They have a distinctive bright blue body (mantle) inside.
Barnacle larva are free swimming and live in the plankton layer and when they are old enough they return to the rocky shores where they find a spot and cement their heads to the rock and then grow their shell around their body.
Size
30 - 60 mm height and 25 - 30 mm diameter.
The adult male has a bright-yellow underbody, olive-green back and wings, and a black head with a bright-yellow collar. Its throat is white, with a broad black band which separates it from the yellow breast. Its beak and legs are black. The adult female has grey upperparts with a pale olive tinge, and is pale grey below with a pale yellowish tinge. Its beak is dark brown and its legs are grey-brown. Both sexes have a red-brown eye. Juvenile birds are rufous above and below, and as they mature, gradually resemble a female, though they retain some rufous feathers in their wings.
