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

One of the impressive birds you can see soaring in the air as you look up to our brilliant blue sky is the Wedge-tailed Eagle (Aquila audax). They can also often be seen on and along the highways, usually feeding on road kill.

Drivers are asked to take care when they see the Wedge-tailed Eagle feeding on the road or at the side of the road, as eagles have become the victims of highway traffic, with large numbers being killed as they feed on dead animals by the road. Please note, that they are slow to take to the air, especially after feeding. Where possible and safely, move any dead carrion at least several metres off the road.

Wedge-tailed Eagle (Aquila audax)
Wedge-tailed Eagle (Aquila audax)

The largest Australian bird of prey is our Wedge-tailed Eagle (Aquila audax). With a wing span reaching more than two metres, and a body measuring up to one metre from head to tail-tip, it has a hooked bill and large talons that can weigh about 4 kg.

Wedge-tailed Eagle (Aquila audax)
Wedge-tailed Eagle (Aquila audax)

The females are larger than males. The young birds have brown feathers that become progressively darker as the bird ages, with the mature adults being dark brown to black, with white and bronze feathers on their necks and wings. The legs are feathered to the base of the toe.

Checkout our Birds section for more info on the Wedge-tailed Eagle (Aquila audax).


  • Scientific classification
  • Kingdom: Animalia
  • Phylum: Chordata
  • Class: Aves
  • Order: Accipitriformes
  • Family: Accipitridae
  • Genus: Aquila
  • Species: Aquila audax

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 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 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 Insects Alice Springs Ants (Formicidae) Camponotus novaehollandiae group Alice Springs Butterflies & Moths Bag-shelter Moth & Processionary Caterpillar Blue Moon Butterfly Caper White Butterfly, Egg and Instar Chasmina pulchra Cossid Moth (Endoxyla leucomochla) Glasswing (Acraea andromacha) Godart’s Hawkmoth (Agrius godarti) Helicoverpa punctigera Laced Day-Moth (Ipanica cornigera) Lesser Wanderer (Danaus petilia) Tawny Coster (Acraea terpsicore) Yeperenye / Yipirinya Alice Springs Diptera Australiphthiria sp (Bee Fly) Alice Springs Green Blowfly Mydas Fly, Miltinus sp Robber Fly, Bathypogon sp Stiletto Fly (Agapophytus yeatesi) Yellow-shouldered Hover Fly, Ischiodon scutellaris Alice Springs Dragonflies Blue Skimmer (Orthetrum caledonicum) Scarlet Percher (Diplacodes haematodes) 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 Orthoptera Acrida conica Garden Mantis Giant Grasshopper Woodger’s Gumleaf Katydid 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 Beautiful Badge Huntsman (Neosparassus calligaster) Banded Garden Spider 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 Wall Spider (Oecobius sp)

Alice Springs FloraAnnual Yellowtop Acacia ligulata 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