Alice Springs Fauna •
Alice Springs BirdsBabblers Black-faced Cuckooshrike Brown Falcon Channel-billed Cuckoo Crested Pigeon Galah Magpie-lark Musk Duck Port Lincoln Ringneck Rainbow Bee-eater Sacred Kingfisher Sanderling Spinifex Pigeon Singing Honeyeater Southern Boobook Spiny-cheeked Honeyeater Splendid Fairy-wren Spotted Dove Wedge-tailed Eagle Western Bowerbird Whistling Kite White-plumed Honeyeater Willie Wagtail Yellow-throated Miner
The Rainbow Bee-eater (Merops ornatus) can be seen in Alice Springs doing aerial acrobatics in pursuit of flying insects such as bees and dragonflies. A delightful common species they are found in open airspace such as over woodland and open forest, semi-arid scrub, grassland, farmland.
The Rainbow Bee-eater are ground nesting birds, creating their nest burrows in sandy banks or loamy soil, although the soft needs to be soft enough for excavating, but firm enough to sustain the tunnel to the nest. They are thought to mate for life.
Checkout our Birds section for more info on the Rainbow Bee-eater (Merops ornatus).
- Scientific Classification
- Kingdom: Animalia
- Phylum: Chordata
- Class: Aves
- Order: Coraciiformes
- Family: Meropidae
- Genus: Merops
- Species: M. ornatus
- Binomial name: Merops ornatus
Alice Springs BirdsBabblers Black-faced Cuckooshrike Brown Falcon Channel-billed Cuckoo Crested Pigeon Galah Magpie-lark Musk Duck Port Lincoln Ringneck Rainbow Bee-eater Sacred Kingfisher Sanderling Spinifex Pigeon Singing Honeyeater Southern Boobook Spiny-cheeked Honeyeater Splendid Fairy-wren Spotted Dove Wedge-tailed Eagle Western Bowerbird Whistling Kite White-plumed Honeyeater Willie Wagtail Yellow-throated Miner
Alice Springs FaunaAlice Springs Native Bees Alice Springs Beetles Alice Springs Birds Babblers Black-faced Cuckooshrike Brown Falcon Channel-billed Cuckoo Crested Pigeon Galah Magpie-lark Musk Duck Port Lincoln Ringneck Rainbow Bee-eater Sacred Kingfisher Sanderling Spinifex Pigeon Singing Honeyeater Southern Boobook Spiny-cheeked Honeyeater Splendid Fairy-wren Spotted Dove Wedge-tailed Eagle Western Bowerbird Whistling Kite White-plumed Honeyeater Willie Wagtail Yellow-throated Miner Alice Springs Gastropods (Gastropoda) Ambigolimax spp (Keelback Slug) Granulomelon adcockianum (Camaenid Land Snail) Alice Springs Insects Alice Springs Ants (Formicidae) Camponotus novaehollandiae group Alice Springs Bees Amegilla Bee Braunsapis sp Bright-white Masked Bee Bush Bee Ceylalictus perditellus European Honey Bee Exoneurella eremophila Golden-browed Resin Bee Lasioglossum (Homalictus) Lasioglossum (Homalictus) on Eucalyptus orbifolia Lasioglossum (Homalictus) dotatum Lasioglossum (Homalictus) urbanus Lasioglossum (Parasphecodes) Lipotriches Megachile deanii Red-headed Masked Bee Stenotritidae genus Stenotritus Xanthesma (Xenohesma) Alice Springs Beetles Bisallardiana sp Blaps polychresta Bolboceratidae Calolampra sp Calosoma oceanicum Carphurus (Soft-winged Flower Beetle) Chalcophorotaenia Chlorobapta frontalis Coccinella transversalis (Transverse Ladybird) Eretes australis (Padded Diving Beetle) Hydrophilus brevispina Lepidiota Merimna atrata Neospades sp Pachydissus (Longhorn Beetles) Paropsisterna laesa (Eucalyptus Leaf Beetle) Protaetia fusca (Mottled Flower Scarab) Pterohelaeus sp (Blue Pie-dish Beetles) Alice Springs Butterflies & Moths Antlion (Heoclisis fundata) Australian Striped Hawk Moth (Hyles livornicoides) Bag-shelter Moth & Processionary Caterpillar Blue Moon Butterfly Caper White Butterfly, Egg and Instar Chasmina pulchra (White Beauty) Cossid Moth (Endoxyla leucomochla) Glasswing (Acraea andromacha) Godart’s Hawkmoth (Agrius godarti) Helicoverpa punctigera (Australian Fruitworm) Laced Day-Moth (Ipanica cornigera) Leptocneria binotata Lesser Wanderer (Danaus petilia) Mocis alterna (Bean Looper Moth) Owlet Moth (Eudesmeola lawsoni) Sameodes cancellalis (Banded Pearl) Tawny Coster (Acraea terpsicore) Yeperenye / Yipirinya Alice Springs Diptera Alice Springs Green Blowfly Australiphthiria sp (Bee Fly) Mydas Fly, Miltinus sp Robber Fly, Bathypogon sp Soldier Flies (Odontomyia) Stiletto Fly (Agapophytus yeatesi) Yellow-shouldered Hover Fly, Ischiodon scutellaris Alice Springs Dragonflies Blue Skimmer (Orthetrum caledonicum) Scarlet Percher (Diplacodes haematodes) Alice Springs Orthoptera Acrida conica Garden Mantis Giant Grasshopper Woodger’s Gumleaf Katydid Alice Springs True Bugs (Heteroptera) Eucalyptus Tip-wilting Bug Ground Shield Bug (Choerocoris paganus) Ippatha australiensis Soapberry Bugs, Leptocoris sp Spilostethus sp Alice Springs Water Scorpion Alice Springs Wasps Abispa ephippium Agriomyia maculata Bembicinae Bembix Blue Hairy Flower Wasp Cryptocheilus Cryptocheilus bicolor Cryptocheilus bicolor with Prey (Neosparassus sp) Delta latreillei Delta philantes Eumeninae Mud Nests and Potter Wasps Orchid Dupe Wasp Paralastor (Potter Wasp) Pseudabispa bicolor ssp. nigrocinctoides Sceliphron laetum Thynnid Flower Wasps Velvet Ant Family (Tribe Dasymutillini) Yellow Hairy Flower Wasp (Radumeris radula) Yellow Hairy Flower Wasp (Radumeris tasmaniensis) Alice Springs Marsupials Black-footed Rock Wallaby Euro Alice Springs Reptiles Bearded Dragon Bynoe’s Gecko Common Desert Ctenotus Ctenotus saxatilis Eastern Tree Dtella Long-nosed Dragon Perentie Alice Springs Spiders Australian Golden Orb Weaver Australian Huntsman Spiders (Sparassidae) Banded Garden Spider Beautiful Badge Huntsman (Neosparassus calligaster) Cytaea sp Desert Huntsman Spider Elegant Water Spider (Dolomedes facetus) Hackled Orb-weavers Long-jawed Orb Weavers Long-tailed St. Andrew’s Cross Spider Lynx Spider (Oxyopidae) Miturgidae (Elassoctenus spp) Red-headed Mouse Spider Redback Spider (Latrodectus hasselti) Wall Spider (Oecobius sp)
Alice Springs FloraAlice Springs Flora Index Acacia ligulata Annual Yellowtop Apple Bush Bougainvillea Burdekin Plum Carob Tree (Ceratonia siliqa) Cattle Bush Desert Cotton (Aerva javanica) Desert Oak Eremophila Wildberry Feijoa sellowiana Flannel Cudweed Fork-leaf Corkwood Ghost Gum Golden Everlasting Kurrajong Lemon-flowered Gum MacDonnell’s Desert Fuchsia Native Bluebell Native Tomato Needlewood Olive Tree Perennial Yellow Top Rat’s Tail River Red Gum Inland River Red Gum Rosy Dock Round-leaved Mallee Scurvy Grass Silky Eremophila Stemodia viscosa Striped Mintbush Sturt’s Desert Pea Sturt’s Desert Rose Tangled Leschenaultia Tar Vine Weeping Bottlebrush White Cedar Yellow Billybutton Yellow-keeled Swainsona Yellow Oleander