First Sighting of Critically Endangered Plains-Wanderer in Australia in More Than 3 Decades

The first sighting of the critically endangered Plains-wanderer in Australia in more than three decades was detected by Zoos Victoria in two areas of remnant grassland west of Melbourne, reported The Guardian.

Evolutionarily speaking, Plains-wanderers are unique. As the only member of the Pedionomidae family, there is no other bird like it on Earth.

“They’re in a family of their own,” said expert birdwatching guide Tim Dolby. “A lot of international birdwatchers want to see every single family of bird in the world. So at some point they have to come along and look for plains-wanderers.”

Loss of already sparse native grasslands is the Plains-wanderer’s main threat, in addition to the declining condition of grassland habitat that remains.

“They like it just right. If the grass cover becomes too thick or too sparse, they abandon the site,” Zoos Victoria said.

The zoo installed 35 “song meters” — audio recorders — on nine properties that had suitable habitat. AI was used to weed through thousands of hours of recording data, which revealed the low, soft “ooming” call of Plains-wanderer females at two of the sites, The Guardian reported.

Chris Hartnett, species program coordinator at Zoos Victoria, likened the result to “finding gold.” Hartnett said they would work with land managers and owners to protect the rare species.

The Plains-wanderer joined several other animals — including the koala, Southern Corroboree frog, malleefowl and brush-tailed rock wallaby — on the list of iconic species for New South Wales (NSW) in May of 2016, according to Trust for Nature.

As part of their listing as an iconic species and to stop their decline, the environment minister announced that priority investment would be given to the Plains-wanderer under the government of NSW’s $100 million Saving our Species program.

“Plains-wanderers are beautiful birds. They are mostly brown or buff in colour with white and blackish markings over the body, including spots and streaks on the head and neck,” Zoos Victoria said. “Plains-wanderers prefer short, sparse grasslands that provide cover and space to forage for seeds, leaves and insects. Once seen from South Australia into Victoria and up to Queensland, the Plains-wanderer has undergone a dramatic decline in the last decade. It is critically endangered and under imminent threat of extinction.”

Plains-wanderer populations in the wild have dramatically declined due to habitat loss and are now somewhere between 250 and 1,000 individuals. Less than one percent of the grasslands they call home remain in Victoria.

“They’ve held on, even though the landscape has changed pretty drastically,” Hartnett said, as reported by The Guardian.

Harnett said females of the species are larger and more colorful and dominant than males, defending their territory while males guard the eggs.

“They’re very endearing and quite eccentric,” Hartnett said, adding that the courting female formed “a shape with her wings like a jet plane and chased the males around.”

Plains-wanderers are particular about their habitat, preferring tufts of grass growing on raised mounds with no trees and interspersed with bare soil.

“We’ve often referred to the plains-wanderer as a ‘goldilocks species’,” Hartnett explained, saying they preferred their grassland “not too dense, not too sparse, but just right.”

Now that the elusive birds have been spotted on two new areas of land — one public, one private — Harnett said the researchers would continue to look for more.

“We welcome anyone who thinks they may have seen one of these birds on their property to get in touch, and we can put these audio recorders out there,” Harnett said.