Birds in Backyards

Scientific Name

Common name

Description

Acacia cardiophylla

Wyalong wattle

Shrub 2m. Naturally occurs in mallee, on sandy, red soils. Soft ferny foliage.

Acacia deanei

Green wattle

Small tree 2-7m. Golden yellow flowers and feathery (bipinnate) leaves.

Acacia decora

Western golden wattle

Small shrub 1-4m. Dense foliage with bright golden yellow flowers.

Acacia vestita

Hairy wattle

Medium dense shrub 1-4m. Occurs naturally on steep slopes or in sheltered gullies.

Acacia paradoxa

Kangaroo thorn

Medium shrub 2-4m with dense prickly foliage and very bright yellow wattle flowers.

Acacia leucoclada

Northern silver wattle

Small tree 4-18m. Naturally very widespread with feathery (bipinnate) leaves and yellow flowers.

Allocasuarina verticillata

Drooping she-oak

Small tree up to 10m with dense needle-like foliage, rusty red flowers and cones.

Bursaria spinosa

Native Blackthorn

A large shrub up to 8m with very prickly foliage and cream-pale yellow nectar-producing flowers in summer

Calytrix tetragona

Fringe-myrtle

Small shrub 0.5-2m naturally occurring on shallow sandy soils in sunny locations has small leaves and starry open-petalled white to pink flowers in early spring.

Cassinia quinquefaria

Cassinia

Medium shrub 1-3 m with creamy daisy-like flowers and small sticky leaves.

Dianella revoluta

Blue Flax Lily

Erect tufted plant up to 1m with long strappy leaves and small blue flowers and blue-purple berries produced on long stems.

Dodonea viscosa

Hop Bush

Large compact shrub up to 5m with attractive foliage and seeds. Common in woodland

Hardenbergia violacea

Happy Wanderer

A perennial scrambling or climbing plant that is commonly cultivated. Blue-purple flowers in August followed by small pods.

Grevillea floribunda

Seven Dwarfs Grevillea

Shrub up to 1.8 m with largish leaves and greenish-rusty orange coloured flowers.

Grevillea lanigera

Woolly Grevillea

Low growing shrub to about 1.5 m with greenish-grey leaves and clusters of deep pink and cream flowers. Prune for dense growth.

Indigofera australis

Austral Indigo

A spreading shrub up to 0.5 to 2.5 m with small, soft leaves and pink pea-like flowers in spring, followed by seed pods.

Kunzea parvifolia

Violet Kunzea

Bushy tea-tree like shrub to about 3m. Tiny leaves and massed pink-purple flowers in spring. Naturally found in heath and dry eucalypt forests.

Lomandra longifolia

Mat Rush

Tough plant forming dense tussocks of thick leaves up to 1m high. Flower heads form spiky clusters. Provides shelter and seed for birds.

Senna artemisioides

Silver (Desert) Cassia

Medium shrub 1-3m with narrow grey-green leaves and yellow nectar-producing flowers followed by seed pods.

Themeda australis

Kangaroo Grass

A widespread perennial native grass growing in loose tussocks up to 1.2m. Attractive triangular seed heads often tinted bronze or purplish.

Chrysocephalum apiculatum

Yellow Buttons

Small understorey perennial plant up to 0.6m with attractive yellow button-like pollen producing flowers.

Poa sieberiana

Snow grass

Tussock forming perennial grass. Provides grain for seed-eating birds like finches.

Scientific Name

Common name

Description

Grevillea rosmarinifolia

Rosemary Grevillea

Small to large spreading shrub up to about 2 m. with narrow, slightly prickly leaves. Winter flowers from pink to red to yellow or cream

Grevillea juniperina

Juniper Grevillea

A variable shrub – spreading or shrub like up to about 3 m with dense small prickly leaves and nectar-producing flowers in winter

Leptospermum. polygalifolium and Leptospermum spp.

Tea- tree

This medium growing tea tree up to 3- 7m is covered in a profusion of white tea-tree flowers in late spring. Other tea trees may also help create good backyard habitat for birds.

Melaleuca spp.

Myrtles or Paperbarks

There are many different sorts of Melaleuca shrubs and small trees that may provide good bird habitat – some have masses of nectar-producing spring flowers that attract insects; others can be pruned into dense hedging plants while the papery bark is also a feature of some.

Westringia fruticosa

Coast Rosemary

A frost-hardy, adaptable native shrub 2-3m high with dense foliage and white flowers with purple markings. Can be pruned to provide good habitat