|
Australian bird habitats:
|
Aboriginal names: "coolan", "darwall", "narrong", "tooloondoo", "towalba" = Swamp; "pindiana" = Lignum swamp
 |
Description of habitat |
Swamps are permanently water-logged areas in shallow depressions, around lakes or along rivers, with vegetation rooting in the water, but reaching the surface. True swamps are dominated by trees, while transitional swamps have only shrubs.
NB: By definition, "swamps" are dominated by trees standing in water. "Marshes" are dominated by soft-stemmed plants, such as reeds and grasses.
Swamps offer potential habitats for a variety of waders and other birds, for feeding, nesting and also hiding. Swamps not only attract aquatic birds, but there are many other species that can benefit from the presence of higher and/or denser vegetation in otherwise drier, less vegetated surroundings. Being a dry continent, Australia does not have a large number of swamps.
There is a separate page describing areas that are not permanently water-logged, i.e. ephemeral wetlands.
 |
Bird species found in this type of habitat or plant |
This is not necessarily a complete list. We display here some examples of bird species found by us in this kind of habitat or plant. Hover your cursor on thumbnails to see names of species; click on thumbnail to go to the page describing the species.
|
 |
Photos |
Example of a true swamp - Melaleuca swamp with
reeds at
Myall Lakes NP,
NSW; this swamp is found on the shore of a
lake
This swamp is found at the inlet of Yarrie Lake,
a small natural lake
in inland NSW; in this habitat a large number of
Rufous Night Herons
was found
Example of a riverine
swamp - eucalypt-dominated
swamp at
Macquarie Marshes NR;
other parts of the wetland, dominated by
reeds
and grass tussocks, are by definition marshes
These pages are largely based on our own observations and those of our contributors. The structure of these bird pages is explained HERE. For more salient facts on any bird species please refer to a field guide.
|
Would you like to contribute photos or sound recordings to this
site?
If interested, please CLICK HERE. Credits to contributors are given HERE. |
Disclaimer:
Comments are always welcome. We give no guarantee
that the information presented on these pages is always correct or
up-to-date. External links are marked as such and we take no
responsibility for the contents of external pages.
All images on this site are protected by copyright & used by permission
of the respective owners. If you wish to reproduce them or any of the
material presented on this website, please contact us:
We hereby acknowledge the original custodians of the land which is
described on these pages, including the Gomeroi/Gamilaraay people
of the North-west Slopes and Plains of NSW, and the traditional
owners of other lands and nations within this country. We acknowledge
elders past, present and emerging. Sovereignty was never ceded.
Last updated:
Tue, 17 February 2026, 9:51 +00:00