One of the most amazing and accessible wildlife-watching destinations on earth, the "Top End" of Australia's Northern Territory is home to incredible birds and animals―from gaudy Red-collared Lorikeets to sinister Estuarine Crocodiles and raucous Black Flying-foxes. With this lavishly illustrated photographic field guide, you will be able to identify the most common creatures and learn about their fascinating biology―from how Agile Wallaby mothers can pause their pregnancies to why Giant Frogs spend half the year buried underground in waterproof cocoons. The Top End stretches from the tropical city of Darwin in the north, to the savannas of Mataranka in the south, and southwest across the vast Victoria River escarpments to the Western Australian border. The region includes some of Australia's most popular and impressive tourist destinations, such as Kakadu, Litchfield, Nitmiluk, and Gregory national parks, and is visited by more than two hundred thousand tourists every year. An essential field guide for anyone visiting the Top End, this book will vastly enhance your appreciation of the region's remarkable wildlife. Features hundreds of stunning color photographs - Includes concise information on identification and preferred habitat for each species - Provides a summary of each species' life history, including interesting habits, and suggestions on where to see it - Offers valuable tips on searching for wildlife in the Top End - An essential guide for visitors to the Top End, from Darwin south to Katherine and Kununurra, including Kakadu, Litchfield, Nitmiluk and Gregory national parks "Anyone lucky enough to be visiting this region of Australia should have a copy of the book." ---Frederic H. Brock, Wildlife Activist Nick Leseberg is a native of Australia and a guide for Tropical Birding, which organizes bird and wildlife tours around the world. Iain Campbell is a native of Australia and cofounder of Tropical Birding. He is the coauthor of Wildlife of Australia (Princeton). Campbell and Leseberg are also coauthors of Birds of Australia: A Photographic Guide (Princeton). Birds and Animals of Australia's Top End Darwin, Kakadu, Katherine, and Kununurra By Nick Leseberg, Iain Campbell PRINCETON UNIVERSITY PRESS Copyright © 2015 Nick Leseberg and Iain Campbell All rights reserved. ISBN: 978-0-691-16146-4 Contents About this book, 7, How to use this book, 9, Maps of the Top End, 10, Geography and geology of the Top End, 12, Weather and seasons of the Top End, 14, Habitats of the Top End, 16, Beaches and mudflats, 16, Mangroves, 16, Rivers and billabongs, 17, Freshwater wetlands and floodplains, 17, Monsoon forest, 18, Sandstone escarpments, 18, Savanna woodlands, 19, How to watch wildlife, 20, Equipment, 20, When to watch wildlife, 20, Finding wildlife, 21, Watching nocturnal species, 21, Where to find wildlife, 22, Fogg Dam Conservation Reserve, 22, Gregory National Park, 22, Kakadu National Park, 23, Howard Springs Nature Park, 23, Mataranka and Elsey National Park, 23, Nitmiluk National Park and Katherine Gorge, 23, BIRDS OF WETLANDS AND BEACHES, Magpie Goose – Magpie Goose, 26, Whistling-ducks – Wandering & Plumed Whistling-ducks, 28, Shelduck, grebe and pygmy-goose – Radjah Shelduck, Australasian Grebe and Green Pygmy-goose, 30, Ducks – Hardhead, Pacific Black Duck and Grey Teal, 32, Stork – Black-necked Stork, 34, Cormorants – Australian Pied, Little Pied, Little Black & Great Cormorants, 36, Darter and pelican – Australasian Darter and Australian Pelican, 38, White egrets – Plumed, Cattle, Great & Little Egrets, 40, Dark herons – Great-billed, White-faced & Pied Herons and Pacific Reef-heron, 42, Small herons – Rufous Night-heron, Striated Heron and Black Bittern, 44, Ibises and spoonbill – Australian, Straw-necked & Glossy Ibises and Royal Spoonbill, 46, Rails and crake – Chestnut & Buff-banded Rails and White-browed Crake, 48, Swamphen and coot – Purple Swamphen and Common Coot, 50, Crane and stone-curlew – Brolga and Beach Stone-curlew, 52, Stilt and oystercatchers – Pied & Sooty Oystercatchers and Black-winged Stilt, 54, Lapwing and jacana – Masked Lapwing and Comb-crested Jacana, 56, Small plovers and turnstone – Black-fronted and Red-kneed Dotterels, Red-capped Plover and Ruddy Turnstone]TC1 TC1[58, Coastal plovers – Grey & Pacific Golden Plovers and Greater & Lesser Sandplovers, 60, 'Grassy plains' waders – Australian and Oriental Pratincoles, Oriental Plover and Little Curlew, 62, Large sandpipers – Far Eastern Curlew, Whimbrel and Bar-tailed Godwit, 64, Medium-sized sandpipers – Common Greenshank, Great & Red Knots and Grey-tailed Tattler, 66, 'Coastal' small sandpipers – Sanderling, Red-necked Stint and Curlew & Terek Sandpipers, 68, Other small sandpipers – Marsh, Common & Sharp-tailed Sandpipers, 70, Gull + Large terns: 1 – Silver Gull and Caspian Tern, 72, Large terns: 2 – Greater Crested, Lesser Crested & Gull-billed Te