Current interest in the biological resources of Australia and the possible impact of large-scale ecological developments such as man-made lakes and national reserves demands that the parasites and infectious diseases (health patterns) of its wild fauna are fully delineated and studied in detail. A short selected re- view outlines aspects associated with avifauna, where contributions have been made to the understanding of the role of these organisms with respect to avifauna in general. Detailed study of the subject in Australia is lacking.