Black and white winner

The results of BirdLife Australia’s Aussie Bird Count are in, with a record-breaking 5 million birds counted during one week in October 2025.

Across the week, 621 different bird species were observed, but it was the Australian Magpie that swooped into top spot as the bird Australia sees the most. One in every two surveys in 2025 included a sighting of the iconic black-and-white bird, revealing its ubiquitous presence in Australian life.

The Rainbow Lorikeet claimed second position on the list of our most commonly spotted species, ahead of the native Noisy Miner, the Sulphur-crested Cockatoo, and the Magpie-lark.

As in previous years, the Rainbow Lorikeet was the most numerous bird counted, with regular sightings of colourful flocks resulting in more than 535,000 individual birds added to the Count.

“Because rainbow lorikeets are more social, hanging out in flocks, when we see them, we see more of them”, said BirdLife Australia’s National Public Affairs advisor (and chief bird-nerd) Sean Dooley.

“But the magpie is the bird we encounter most often. Every second person who did the Count last year added a magpie to their list”, he added.

Most bird counts (around 70 per cent) were conducted in built-up areas, adding to a national snapshot of the birds sharing our increasingly urbanised world.

Notable shifts in the overall results from previous years include some birds outside of the top ten climbing the ranks of those seen most often. The Australian White Ibis has climbed from 23rd place in 2021, to 14th last year. In NSW and Queensland the Australian Brush-turkey is also scratching its way up the ladder.

“Birds respond to the changes we make to our environment”, Dooley said.

“Everybody knows the bin-chicken, especially in Sydney and Brisbane where they’re doing well in the city. Birds like these have found ways to take advantage of urban growth, and it’s encouraging to see native species adapting like this.

“Sadly, the flipside to that story is the birds in need of other kinds of habitat, like smaller bush birds, get pushed into decline as their habitats are destroyed.

“It’s a reminder that the changes we make have an impact. Adding native plants to your garden can offer a lifeline to those other Australian native birds that we’re more worried about”, Dooley concluded.

The next Aussie Bird Count will take place the week of 19-25 October, 2026. Visit aussiebirdcount.org.au for details.

Image: Aussie Bird Count