Magpie swoops in to claim top spot in Australia

The Magpie is the most commonly seen bird in Australia’s urban centres, followed by the Rainbow Lorikeet and the Noisy Miner.

In Queensland, it’s the Rainbow Lorikeet that’s the most sighted, followed by the Noisy Miner and Australian Magpie.

The results from BirdLife Australia’s Aussie Bird Count show a record-breaking five million birds were counted during a week-long national bird-counting 2025 survey, with nearly 64,000 people participating and nearly 155,000 surveys submitted.

During the week, 621 different bird species were observed, with the Australian Magpie swooping into top spot as one in every two surveys included a sighting of the iconic black-and-white bird.

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.

BirdLife Australia’s National Public Affairs advisor Sean Dooley said this was because rainbow lorikeets were more social and moved in flocks.

“When we see them, we see more of them,” Mr Dooley said in a statement.

“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.”

Around 70 percent of the bird counts were conducted in urban areas, but sightings were recorded even in far-flung territories including Christmas Island, Cocos Islands, and sub-Antarctic Heard Island.

The Australian White Ibis climbed from 23rd place in 2021 to 14th, while the Australian Brush turkey also scratched its way up the ladder.

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

Mr Dooley said unfortunately the flip-side to that was birds in need of other kinds of habitats, like smaller bush birds, were declining as their surroundings were destroyed.

“It’s a reminder that the changes we make have an impact,” Mr Dooley said.

“Adding native plants to your garden can offer a lifeline to those other Australian native birds that we’re more worried about.”

The next bird count will take place on October 19-25, 2026. To participate, click here.

National Top 10 birds sighted: