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Wild Animals in Australia

662 species are recorded more often in Australia than anywhere else — from the much-photographed Australian Magpie to the seldom-seen Northern Quoll. Every one is backed by research-grade iNaturalist sightings.

  • 238 birds
  • 186 ray-finned fish
  • 101 mammals
  • 63 reptiles
  • 50 amphibians
  • 19 cartilaginous fish
  • 5 cephalopods

All 662 species recorded in Australia

Ordered by how often people have recorded them. Tap any animal for its full field-guide entry.

Wild animals in Australia: 17 questions answered

Answered from this page’s 662-species slice of the guide. Counts describe the guide, not a national checklist.

What wild animals live in Australia?

This field guide lists 662 wild animals whose research-grade iNaturalist sightings are concentrated in Australia: 238 birds, 186 ray-finned fish, 101 mammals, 63 reptiles and 3 other groups. The most frequently recorded are Australian Magpie, Common Mynah and Pearl-necked Dove. Every species below has its own page with a photo, its scientific name, its conservation status and where it is most observed.

How many wild animal species are listed for Australia?

662 — the species in the Tracks field guide for which Australia holds the most verified sightings. This is not a complete national checklist: a species recorded even more often in a neighbouring country appears on that country's page instead, and the Tracks app itself catalogues 40,286 species worldwide. Between them these 662 species account for 2,553,578 research-grade observations.

What is the most commonly seen wild animal in Australia?

Australian Magpie (Gymnorhina tibicen), with 49,688 research-grade observations on iNaturalist — more than any other species on this page. Next most recorded are Common Mynah and Pearl-necked Dove. "Most recorded" means most often photographed and verified by people, which is a good proxy for what a visitor is likely to actually see.

What is the rarest animal in Australia?

On the Tracks rarity scale the rarest species on this page is Northern Quoll (Epic tier), with 171 recorded sightings. Tracks rarity is based on how often a species is actually encountered rather than on its conservation status, so a rare card is a hard animal to find, not necessarily a threatened one.

What wild mammals live in Australia?

This guide lists 101 mammals for Australia, most-recorded first: Koala, Eastern Grey Kangaroo, Short-beaked Echidna, Common Brushtail, Swamp Wallaby and Common Ringtail Possum, plus 95 more on this page.

What birds can you see in Australia?

238 bird species are listed for Australia. The most frequently recorded are Australian Magpie, Common Mynah, Pearl-necked Dove, Laughing Kookaburra, Superb Fairywren and Silver Gull, plus 232 more on this page.

Are there reptiles and amphibians in Australia?

Yes — 63 reptiles and 50 amphibians are listed for Australia. They include Common House Gecko, Australian Water Dragon, Lace Monitor, Shingleback Lizard, Common Bluetongue and Carpet Python, plus 107 more on this page. Reptiles and amphibians are under-recorded almost everywhere relative to birds and mammals, so treat these counts as a floor.

Are there dangerous wild animals in Australia?

14 of the species on this page belong to the groups behind most wildlife injuries — large carnivores, crocodilians, sharks, venomous snakes and big herbivores. They are Saltwater Crocodile, Red-bellied Black Snake, Eastern Tiger Snake, Eastern Brown Snake, Port Jackson Shark and Lowlands Copperhead, plus 8 more on this page. Nearly all of them avoid people given the chance. The practical rules are the same everywhere: never approach, corner or feed a wild animal, keep dogs leashed, store food securely, and give any animal with young a wide berth.

Are there venomous snakes in Australia?

Yes. 5 of the snakes listed for Australia belong to venomous groups: Red-bellied Black Snake, Eastern Tiger Snake, Eastern Brown Snake, Lowlands Copperhead and Highlands Copperhead. Snake bites are overwhelmingly a result of handling or trying to kill the animal. Treat every snake you can't identify as venomous, back away, and let it leave.

What marine and coastal animals live around Australia?

18 marine or coastal species are listed for Australia, including Afro-Australian Fur Seal, Common Sydney Octopus, Port Jackson Shark, Western Indo-Pacific Spotted Eagle Ray, Indo-Pacific Bottlenose Dolphin and Grey Nurse Shark, plus 12 more on this page.

Which animals in Australia are endangered?

34 of the species on this page are IUCN-listed as Vulnerable or worse: Grey Nurse Shark (Critically Endangered), Western Ringtail Possum (Critically Endangered), Far Eastern Curlew (Endangered), Western Indo-Pacific Spotted Eagle Ray (Endangered), Great Knot (Endangered) and Carnaby's Black Cockatoo (Endangered), plus 28 more. Conservation status is shown on every species page.

What insects and spiders live in Australia?

No insects or arachnids appear on this page — the guide's Australia list is mostly birds and ray-finned fish. A species is shown on the page of whichever country records it most, so any insects or arachnids recorded in Australia either sit on another country's page or fall outside the guide's 662-species slice.

When is the best time to see wild animals in Australia?

Dawn and the hour before dusk, almost everywhere and for almost every species: most mammals are crepuscular, and birds are loudest and most active in the first hours of daylight. Weather matters as much as season — overcast, still mornings after rain are productive, and hot midday hours are the worst time to be out looking. Each species page links to its iNaturalist record, where the observation dates show when people in Australia actually recorded it.

Where can you see wild animals in Australia?

National parks, nature reserves and protected wetlands concentrate both animals and the people recording them, but the edges are often better than the core: hedgerows, riverbanks, coastal paths, and the scrubby margins between habitats. Cities count too — a large share of the sightings behind this page were logged in parks, gardens and suburbs. Because every species here is backed by iNaturalist records, its species page links straight to the map of where it has actually been observed.

How do I identify a wild animal I saw in Australia?

Photograph it if you safely can, and note the size, habitat and behaviour. The Tracks app scans the area you're standing in and shows the animals people have actually recorded there, which narrows an identification far faster than searching a national list. If the animal you saw isn't in Tracks yet, add it on iNaturalist: its community will help you put a name to it, and because Tracks is built from iNaturalist's research-grade observations, a sighting verified there feeds back into the data behind pages like this one.

Can I feed wild animals in Australia?

No — and in many places it is also illegal. Feeding is the fastest way to ruin a wild animal. It teaches them to associate people with food, so they lose their wariness and start working car parks, campsites and picnic tables; a habituated animal that begins grabbing food gets labelled a nuisance and is usually destroyed or hit by a road vehicle. Human food is the wrong food too: bread and processed snacks cause malnutrition and wing deformities in birds and gut damage in mammals. And artificial feeding concentrates animals at densities they would never reach naturally, which is how disease spreads through a local population. If you want wildlife closer to you in Australia, do it by habitat — native planting, a clean water dish, leaving dead wood and leaf litter alone — which supports animals without teaching them to approach people.

Is it safe to approach wild animals in Australia?

No. Keep your distance from every wild animal, however calm it looks — a good rule of thumb is that if the animal changes its behaviour because of you, you are already too close. Don't handle snakes or reptiles, keep dogs leashed near wildlife, and if you find an animal that is injured or appears orphaned, contact a local wildlife rescue or the relevant authority rather than picking it up.

Wild animals in other countries

All 113 countries