But it's not all bad news. Outbreaks of death and disease in birds can spur action to prevent harm to humans. For example, in Western Australia's port town of Esperance in 2006, mass bird deaths ...

Birds in Sydney’s western suburbs have figured out how to get a sip from the fountains, even though they have access to nearby streams ...

Found in droves all over the country, such is their fanbase that in one 2017 poll magpies were voted Australia's favourite bird and massive ... a flash of their reddish-brown eyes - all enough ...

Found on islands and coastlines throughout the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans, the brown booby is a highly adaptable bird, happy to nest on rocky cliffs or coral atolls when it’s not bobbing in ...

Simon Griffith receives funding from the Australian Research Council. Birds have long been considered sentinels for environmental health – hence the proverbial “canary in the coal mine”.