The Otway Fly Tree Top Walk - Great Ocean Road, Victoria, Australia

The small and beautiful; the raucous and gawdy; an amazing variety of bird life frequents the Otways.

Bassian Thrush: Beautifully camouflaged with speckled brown plumage, the thrush is difficult to see against the fallen beech leaves as it searches for worms and other invertebrates on the forest floor.

Eastern Yellow Robin: Conspicuous and unafraid of people, the yellow robin is one of the most frequently seen forest birds. Often the first bird to call before sunrise and the last at night – indeed, its scientific name means “psalm singer of the dawn”.

Crimson Rosella: A flash of crimson and blue is often all you will see as a pair of rosellas fly through the forest. Rosellas feed on the seeds of a range of native plants, including blackwood, and on both native and orchard fruit. A tree hollow is used as a nesting place and up to eight white eggs form the clutch.

Powerful Owl: One of the world’s largest owls, it hunts possums, gliders, even young koalas. It is sometimes seen during the day standing on last night’s prey, which it will eat the next night. Owls nest in large hollow trees, raising their brood of up to three young through late winter and spring.

White-naped Honeyeater: One of many nectar-feeding species, the black head, olive green wings and black and white under parts are distinctive. It has a soft call that may sound like a child sucking a lolly pop, giving the bird its nickname of sweet-sucker.

White-browed Scrubwren: A small, noisy, brown bird of the undergrowth, its agitated chattering is a good warning that a snake is nearby. The nest is an untidy mass of grass and other plant fibre, with an entrance at one side, well hidden in the undergrowth usually close to the ground.

White-throated Treecreeper: This is the bird most commonly heard in the forest. Its call is a loud, high-pitched, continuous piping. Treecreepers feed on insects. They nest in tree hollows.

Striated Thornbill: Tiny and olive-brown, it is a bird of the canopy where it searches for insects, their larvae and other invertebrates. Its nest is tennis-ball size, made of plant fibre and lined with feathers.

Other birds include: kookaburra, various cuckoos, other cockatoos, bowerbird, currawong.

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