Animals

Swamp Rats need dense plant growth so they can build long tunnels though the vegetation. Females need good spring growth of grasses and sedges to establish a territory of about 0.5 hectares before they can breed. They can have several litters of up to five young per year. Frequent fires will prevent Swamp Rats from living in an area.

Breeds June-November. Often found in very large flocks. These disperse during late winter and monogamous pairs form and establish territories. Nests are built in tree hollows and occasionally down rabbit holes. Only the female incubates the eggs. Clutch size is between 5 and 14 and incubation is between 30 and 35 days.

Adult blowflies are attracted to meat or living flesh where they lay maggots rather than eggs. Their full life cycle can be completed in as few as 7 days. Maggots laid in late autumn do not pupate until the following spring. There is a high death rate among overwintering maggots so blowflies need to breed up each spring and summer from a small surviving population.

Nest is large and untidy. It is a bowl or platform of sticks, lined with grasses, bark or feathers. Both sexes build the nest and feed the young. The female incubates the eggs. Only one brood is raised per year. They are usually seen in pairs.

Lives in family groups. The breeding season lasts from June through to December but usually occurs from August-October. Builds a nest in the fork of slender upper tree branches, 5-20 m high. Clutch size is 1-6 eggs and is incubated by the female for 20 days. Young are fed by the female and occasionally the male. The male defends the territory. Young fledge at 28 days. Some individuals become aggressive and swoop intruders during the breeding season.

Breeding season is from August to November. One to two eggs are laid directly on the ground, often in open areas near spinifex grass for the chicks to hide amongst once hatched. Incubation and care of the young is by the female. This species is nomadic.

Breeding occurs most months but in particular from August to December. This species will nest in a depression in the ground producing a clutch of 2- 4 eggs. The female incubates the eggs for 13 days and also feeds the young. There are 2-3 clutches produced each year.