Photos and Story by Braydon Moloney 

Townsville is situated in the coastal dry tropics of northern Queensland. It is a popular tourist stop-off, with most visitors using it as a base for exploring Magnetic Island, the Great Barrier Reef or the historic inland area around Charters Towers. It is also a popular place for holidaying birdwatchers - there are a plethora of RAMSAR listed wetlands around the city, which attract migrant waterbirds from both the north and south, and its proximity to the Wet Tropics sees the occasional appearance of exotic rainforest vagrants as they hop between patches of monsoon vine thickets. But if you look past the colourful birds and begin to examine what they're sitting on, what they're eating, and what they're 'depositing', a new story beings to unfold. Welcome to the coastal dry tropics and its incredible diversity of bush food.