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Riverland Mallee Important Bird Area
The Riverland Mallee Important Bird Area comprises a tract of mallee habitat and riverine woodland extending from near Waikerie in the Riverland region in eastern South Australia north-eastwards into south-western New South Wales. Description The extent of the Important Bird Area (IBA) in South Australia includes the Riverland Biosphere Reserve, pastoral leases, privately held conservation reserves such the Gluepot Reserve and protected areas declared by statute. In New South Wales it includes Scotia Sanctuary as well as several areas of uncleared native vegetation. Wetlands within the extent of the IBA are Lake Merreti, Hart Lagoon and Stockyard Plains. Threats include inappropriate fire regimes, fox predation, and grazing by feral and domestic herbivores. Criteria for nomination as an IBA The site has been identified by BirdLife International as an IBA because it supports the largest population of the critically endangered black-eared miner as well as popul ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
South Australia
South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a state in the southern central part of Australia. It covers some of the most arid parts of the country. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories by area, and second smallest state by population. It has a total of 1.8 million people. Its population is the second most highly centralised in Australia, after Western Australia, with more than 77 percent of South Australians living in the capital Adelaide, or its environs. Other population centres in the state are relatively small; Mount Gambier, the second-largest centre, has a population of 33,233. South Australia shares borders with all of the other mainland states, as well as the Northern Territory; it is bordered to the west by Western Australia, to the north by the Northern Territory, to the north-east by Queensland, to the east by New South Wales, to the south-east by Victoria, and to the south by the Great Australian Bight.M ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Black-eared Miner
The black-eared miner (''Manorina melanotis'') is an endangered honeyeater endemic to mallee woodland in south-eastern Australia. Taxonomy ''Manorina melanotis'' was identified by Francis Erasmus Wilson in 1911. It is closely related to the much more widely distributed yellow-throated miner ''M. flavigula'', and the taxonomic status of the black-eared miner is the subject of some controversy, with some researchers considering it a subspecies of ''M. flavigula''. Behaviour Black-eared miners are co-operative breeders, living in colonies during the breeding season, and dispersing into the bush during non-breeding periods. Little is known of their movements during these periods. In 2022, it was reported that the species had been interbreeding with the yellow-throated miner. Distribution and habitat IBA (Important Bird and Biodiversity Areas), identified by BirdLife International as being important for black-eared miner conservation, are areas containing relatively intact, ma ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Murray River
The Murray River (in South Australia: River Murray) (Ngarrindjeri: ''Millewa'', Yorta Yorta: ''Tongala'') is a river in Southeastern Australia. It is Australia's longest river at extent. Its tributaries include five of the next six longest rivers of Australia (the Murrumbidgee, Darling, Lachlan, Warrego and Paroo Rivers). Together with that of the Murray, the catchments of these rivers form the Murray–Darling basin, which covers about one-seventh the area of Australia. It is widely considered Australia's most important irrigated region. The Murray rises in the Australian Alps, draining the western side of Australia's highest mountains, then meanders northwest across Australia's inland plains, forming the border between the states of New South Wales and Victoria as it flows into South Australia. From an east–west direction it turns south at Morgan for its final , reaching the eastern edge of Lake Alexandrina, which fluctuates in salinity. The water then flows th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Freckled Duck
The freckled duck (''Stictonetta naevosa)'' is a waterfowl species endemic to Australia. The freckled duck has also been referred to as the monkey duck or oatmeal duck. These birds are usually present in mainland Australia, but disperse to coastal and subcostal wetlands in the dry period. During such times it is common for the freckled duck population to congregate in flocks in the same area, giving the impression that they are more common than they really are. The freckled duck population is at risk of further reduction from habitat destruction, droughts and game hunting. Often habitat destruction and drought can lead to an increase in hunting, as the freckled duck is forced to disperse into more coastal ranges where they may not be recognised as a protected species. In the past few decades, several institutions have established breeding programs to aid in supplementation of the freckled duck population. Such establishments included, but are not restricted to the Hunter Wetlan ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sharp-tailed Sandpiper
The sharp-tailed sandpiper (''Calidris acuminata'') (but see below) is a small wader. Taxonomy A review of data has indicated that this bird should perhaps better be placed into the genus ''Philomachus'' – as ''P. acuminatus'' – which now contains only the ruff but if the sharp-tailed sandpiper is merged into it would need to accommodate the broad-billed sandpiper. While the latter is a peculiar calidrid, the sharp-tailed sandpiper is much more similar to other ''Calidris''/''Erolia'' species such as the pectoral sandpiper. On the one hand, its larger size and long-legged stance, and the breast pattern which gradually fades away on the belly as in the ruff instead of having a fairly sharp border as in the ''Calidris''/''Erolia'' stints indicate that placement in ''Philomachus'' may be correct. Still, it is just as possible that – given the fairly common instances of hybridization in calidrines – mitochondrial DNA data has given a false picture of this species' tr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Purple-gaped Honeyeater
The purple-gaped honeyeater (''Lichenostomus cratitius'') is a species of bird in the family Meliphagidae. It is endemic to semi-arid southern Australia, where it inhabits Mallee, tall heath and associated low eucalypt woodland.Menkhorst, P., Rogers, D., Clarke, R., Davies, J., Marsack, P., Franklin, K. (2019) ''The Australian Bird Guide: Revised Edition'', CSIRO Publishing, Melbourne, Victoria, Description The Purple-gaped Honeyeater is a medium-sized (16 - 19 centimetres) honeyeater which is generally grey-olive above and buffish yellow below. They have a patterned head, with a black eyestripe against a grey background and purple gape above a yellow streak on the throat and pointed yellow ear coverts. Juveniles are similar, but with duller facial patterns, slightly browner plumage, and a yellow gape and gape line. The Kangaroo Island subspecies is considered to be larger and darker than the mainland subspecies. Similar species include Yellow-plumed honeyeater and Singin ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Chestnut Quail-thrush
The chestnut quail-thrush (''Cinclosoma castanotum'') is a native Australian bird of the family Cinclosomatidae. These scrub birds are endemic to Australia and found in all states - barring Tasmania. They are relatively uncommon and are isolated to the semi-arid and arid fringes of the Australian interior. Description Similar in physical appearance to other species such as Cinclosoma cinnamomeum and ''C.c. punctatum'', the chestnut quail-thrush is a medium-sized bird that resides in the lower canopy and scrub of arid and semi-arid vegetation. The male is characterised by a rich, yellow chestnut breast, yellow to chestnut flank, with a black band that separates the white belly from the breast. The female differs with a deeper, lighter throat that lacks the black band that separates the belly from the chest, presenting an overall duller hue than the male. The difference in plumage and body size is attributed to the sexual dimorphism common amongst the Cinclosoma genus.OEH (2017 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hooded Robin
The hooded robin (''Melanodryas cucullata'') is a small passerine bird native to Australia. Like many brightly coloured robins of the Petroicidae, it is sexually dimorphic; the male bears a distinctive black-and-white plumage, while the female is a nondescript grey-brown. Taxonomy Like all Australian robins, it is not closely related to either the European robin or the American robin, but belongs rather to the Corvida parvorder comprising many tropical and Australian passerines, including pardalotes, fairy-wrens, and honeyeaters, as well as crows. Initially thought to be related to Old World flycatchers, it was described as ''Muscicapa cucullata'' by the English ornithologist John Latham in 1801. Later described as ''Grallina bicolor'' by Nicholas Aylward Vigors and Thomas Horsfield, it was later placed in the genus '' Petroica'' for many years before being transferred to '' Melanodryas''. The generic name ''melanodryas'' derives from the Greek ''melas'' 'black' and ''d ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Southern Scrub-robin
The southern scrub robin (''Drymodes brunneopygia'') is a species of bird in the family Petroicidae. It is endemic to Australia, where it occurs in mallee and heathland in the semi-arid southern parts of the continent, extending from Wyperfeld National Park in Victoria in the east through South Australia to the west coast between Kalbarri and the Pinnacles in Nambung National Park. It is a relatively dull and large robin, adults being around in length, of which around a third is the tail feathers. Most of the plumage is grey, except for a dullish red tail and patterned black-and-white wings. The legs are unusually long for a passerine, and are frequently used to hop through the dense heathland that forms the bird's habitat, where it searches for insect Insects (from Latin ') are pancrustacean hexapod invertebrates of the class Insecta. They are the largest group within the arthropod phylum. Insects have a chitinous exoskeleton, a three-part body ( head, thorax ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Shy Heathwren
The shy heathwren (''Hylacola cauta'') is a species of small bird in the family Acanthizidae, endemic to Australia. They inhabit mostly mallee woodland that has relatively dense shrub and heath understorey. Taxonomy Their taxonomic name was formerly ''Calamanthus cautus''—classing them as fieldwrens—until they were renamed in 2008. The generic name ''Hylacola'' derives from the Greek ''hylē'' 'woodland' and the Latin ''-cola'' 'dweller'. The specific epithet derives from the Latin ''cautus'' 'shy, wary'. Common names for the species include shy hylacola and mallee heathwren. Four subspecies have been recognised: the nominate subspecies ''Hylacola cauta cauta'' in South Australia and Victoria; ''H. c. macrorhynchus'' in New South Wales; ''H. c. halmaturina'' on Kangaroo Island; and ''H. c. whitlocki'' in Western Australia.Morcombe, Michael (2012) ''Field Guide to Australian Birds''. Pascal Press, Glebe, NSW. Revised edition. Gregory, P. (2020). "Shy Heathwren (Hylacola cau ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Striated Grasswren
The striated grasswren (''Amytornis striatus'') is a small, cryptically coloured ground-dwelling species of wren-like bird in the family Maluridae, endemic to Australia. It occupies a large discontinuous range across arid and semi-arid areas of western, central and southern Australia where it is associated with spinifex ('' Triodia'') grass. Description The striated grasswren is one of 13 species in the genus ''Amytornis'', commonly known as the grasswrens, found only in arid and semi-arid areas of Australia. All are small cryptic birds with long, usually cocked-tails, characterised by diagnostic distinctive interscapular gap in the feathering,Higgins, P. J.; Peter, J. M.; Steele, W. K. 2001. Handbook of Australian, New Zealand and Antarctic Birds: Tyrant-flycatchers to Chats. Oxford University Press, Oxford. an enlarged auditory bulla (tympanic chambers) and ten rectrices. The striated grasswren is a slim, long-tailed grasswren with a slender pointed bill. The plumage is hi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Regent Parrot
The regent parrot or rock pebbler (''Polytelis anthopeplus'') is a bird found in southern Australia. It has predominantly yellow plumage with a green tail. The bird is found primarily in eucalyptus groves and other wooded areas of subtropical southwestern Australia, as well as in a smaller area of subtropical and temperate southeastern Australia. Seeds make up the bulk of its diet. Taxonomy A species of Psittaculidae, allied to the tribe Polytelini, a sister taxon to '' Polytelis swainsonii'', the superb parrot, and '' P. alexandrae'', the princess parrot. The epithet ''anthopeplus'' is derived from ancient Greek, a compound of ''anthos'', flower, and ''peplos'', robe. A 2017 molecular study placed the regent parrot as an early offshoot to the genus ''Aprosmictus'' and not as closely related to the other two species. There are two populations, morphologically similar though isolated, within the species distribution range of Southern Australia. These are described as subspecie ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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