Cacatua leadbeateri -flying -Australia Zoo-8-2cr

The Southern NSW Mallee Important Bird Area comprises an irregularly shaped 8232 km² tract of land in south-western

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

. It is roughly bounded by the

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 r ...

in the south, the

Darling River The Darling River ( Paakantyi: ''Baaka'' or ''Barka'') is the third-longest river in Australia, measuring from its source in northern New South Wales to its conflu ence with the Murray River at Wentworth, New South Wales. Including its longes ...

in the west, and the

Willandra Lakes The Willandra Lakes Region is a World Heritage Site in the Far West region of New South Wales, Australia. The Willandra Lakes Region is the traditional meeting place of the Muthi Muthi, Ngiyampaa and Barkinji Aboriginal tribes. The area was in ...

in the north. It lies north-west of the town of

Balranald Balranald is a town within the local government area of Balranald Shire, in the Riverina district of New South Wales, Australia. The town of Balranald is located where the Sturt Highway crosses the Murrumbidgee River in a remote, semi-desert ...

, north of

Robinvale Robinvale is a town on the south bank of the Murray River in north western Victoria, Australia. It is connected by a bridge to Euston on the other side of the river in New South Wales. At the , Robinvale had a population of 3,313, however a p ...

and east of

Mildura Mildura is a regional city in north-west Victoria, Australia. Located on the Victorian side of the Murray River, Mildura had a population of 34,565 in 2021. When nearby Wentworth, Irymple, Nichols Point and Merbein are included, the area had ...

Description

The exact boundaries of the

Important Bird Area An Important Bird and Biodiversity Area (IBA) is an area identified using an internationally agreed set of criteria as being globally important for the conservation of bird populations. IBA was developed and sites are identified by BirdLife Int ...

(IBA) are defined by the presence of remnant mallee woodland and shrubland habitat, excluding areas that have been cleared or support other

plant communities A plant community is a collection or association of plant species within a designated geographical unit, which forms a relatively uniform patch, distinguishable from neighboring patches of different vegetation types. The components of each plant co ...

. The landscape is mainly mallee on flat or undulating sand plains, much of which is used for

grazing In agriculture, grazing is a method of animal husbandry whereby domestic livestock are allowed outdoors to roam around and consume wild vegetations in order to convert the otherwise indigestible (by human gut) cellulose within grass and other ...

. The climate is

semi-arid A semi-arid climate, semi-desert climate, or steppe climate is a dry climate sub-type. It is located on regions that receive precipitation below potential evapotranspiration, but not as low as a desert climate. There are different kinds of semi-ar ...

; temperatures range from a mean maximum in January of 33 °C to a July minimum of 4.5 °C; mean annual rainfall is about 280 mm. The site includes several small reserves as well as

Mallee Cliffs National Park The Mallee Cliffs National Park is a protected national park that is located in the Sunraysia region, in the south-west of New South Wales, Australia. The national park is situated approximately west of Sydney and east of the Murray River ...

and part of

Mungo National Park Mungo National Park is a protected national park that is located in south-western New South Wales, in eastern Australia. The national park is situated approximately west of Sydney in the Balranald Shire. Mungo National Park is the traditio ...

.BirdLife International. (2011). Important Bird Areas factsheet: Southern NSW Mallee. Downloaded from http://www.birdlife.org on 2011-10-19.

Birds

The site has been identified by

BirdLife International BirdLife International is a global partnership of non-governmental organizations that strives to conserve birds and their habitats. BirdLife International's priorities include preventing extinction of bird species, identifying and safeguarding ...

as an IBA because it either is known to support, or contains suitable habitat for, a significant population (estimated at 500 individuals) of the vulnerable

malleefowl The malleefowl (''Leipoa ocellata'') is a stocky ground-dwelling Australian bird about the size of a domestic chicken (to which it is distantly related). It is notable for the large nesting mounds constructed by the males and lack of parental ca ...

. Other notable birds recorded in the IBA include

flame robin The flame robin (''Petroica phoenicea'') is a small passerine bird native to Australia. It is a moderately common resident of the coolest parts of south-eastern Australia, including Tasmania. Like the other two red-breasted ''Petroica'' robins&md ...

black Black is a color which results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without hue, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness. Black and white have o ...

and

pied honeyeater The pied honeyeater (''Certhionyx variegatus'') is a species of bird in the family of honeyeaters Meliphagidae and the sole species in the genus '' Certhionyx'' (Christidis & Boles 2008). This species is also known as the black and white honeyeat ...

Major Mitchell's cockatoo Major Mitchell's cockatoo (''Lophochroa leadbeateri''), also known as Leadbeater's cockatoo or the pink cockatoo, is a medium-sized cockatoo that inhabits arid and semi-arid inland areas of Australia, though it is seen regularly in other climat ...

purple-crowned lorikeet The purple-crowned lorikeet (''Parvipsitta porphyrocephala''), (also known as the porphyry-crowned lorikeet, zit parrot, blue-crowned lorikeet, purple-capped lorikeet, lory, cowara, lorikeet, and purple-capped parakeet) is a lorikeet found in scr ...

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 s ...

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 ...

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 ...

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 i ...

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 isolate ...

es and

Gilbert's whistler The Gilbert's whistler (''Pachycephala inornata'') is a monotypic species of bird endemic to Australia, scattered in semi-arid zones of southern Australia. Taxonomy The family Pachycephalidae originated within the Australo-Papuan region. Toget ...

References

Important Bird Areas of New South Wales Mallee Woodlands and Shrublands Murray-Darling basin Regions of New South Wales {{NewSouthWales-geo-stub

Description

Birds

See also

References