Ed Parnell Rainbow Lorikeets are a familiar bird of urban Australia Zoom In

Mixed fortunes for Australia's birds

23-01-2004

A new report on the status of Australia’s birds paints a mixed picture of how they are doing.

The State of Australia’s Birds 2003 was produced by Birds Australia (BirdLife in Australia) and coincides with the publication of The New Atlas of Australian Birds, which was complied from sightings gathered between 1998 and 2002. Over that period Birds Australia co-ordinated the largest continent-wide survey of birds in the world involving more than 7,000 people, who between them produced 270,000 bird lists and nearly five million bird records.

The report and atlas show that the prospects for a number of rare species, such as the Noisy Scrub Bird, Hooded Plover and Lord Howe Woodhen have been improved due to targeted conservation measures. The woodhen is endemic to Lord Howe Island off Australia’s east coast and had declined to just five breeding pairs in 1980. However, as a result of a captive-breeding programme and the eradication of feral pigs and goats, there is now a stable population of around 200 birds.

Ed Parnell Will birds of Australia's harsh interior, such as this Spinifex Pigeon, be affected by global warming? Zoom In

Declining common species have fared less well, particularly those favouring agricultural areas such as the Hooded Robin, where the clearing and degradation of habitat is continuing to be a problem. Higher altitude species such as the Gang-gang Cockatoo and Flame Robin also seem to be showing a noticeable decline, which could be an early indication of the effects of global warming. Conversely a number of species, such as the Pacific Baza and Noisy Pitta have increased their range southwards.

Australia’s cities continue to hold large numbers of species, mainly a result of their relatively large areas of suitable habitat and low population density. Birds such as the Rainbow Lorikeet have become a common sight in many urban areas. Many introduced birds such as the Common Myna continue their invasion, but others such as the Common Starling and House Sparrow are showing noticeable declines – mirroring the situation in their native Europe.