This has been the impact of European settlers on Australian birdlife

Threatened birds have disappeared from almost 70% of Australia since European colonization, according to a new study.

Researchers mapped the pre-European (1750) habitats of Australia’s most threatened birds, comparing those with current habitats.

Australians should be extremely alarmed by the findings, says Michelle Ward, a PhD candidate in the University of Queensland School of Earth and Environmental Sciences and World Wildlife Fund Australia.

“A whopping 69% of the country is missing some of its most enigmatic bird species. And 10 birds have become locally extinct from 99% of their historical habitat, with their remaining habitats having become much more fragmented.

“Australia is celebrated globally as having some of the most intact ecosystems on the planet, but there’s been a mass local extinction of wild animals across much of the continent.

“Since European colonization, human activities associated with forestry, agricultural development, urbanization, and mining have been driving—and continue to drive—extinctions and diminish populations.

“Before this study, there wasn’t a great appreciation of what the bird fauna might have been in some areas, and what has disappeared, but—sadly—our once bird-rich continent is no more.”

The study is a timely reminder that the arrival of Europeans led to drastic changes to Australia’s birdlife, says James Watson, professor of environmental management in the School of Earth and Environmental Sciences.

“Species like the eastern star finch used to be found from Northern NSW to the Burdekin River in Queensland, but it’s not been seen since 1995 and is now probably extinct,” he says. “Other species, such as the regent honeyeater, used to be found from Adelaide to north of Brisbane in flocks of thousands.

“Now this species is down to approximately 100 breeding pairs in just three locations of New South Wales. This study found this species has become locally extinct from almost 90% of its historical habitat, driven mostly by land clearing.”

Ward fears for the future of Australian wildlife if things don’t change.

“The story of decline is not limited to only threatened species, with more common birds, such as willie wagtails, brolgas, boobook owls, and even magpies, now disappearing from many places where they were once common,” she says.

“This research should start the conversation about the true challenges Australia’s biodiversity faces and guide conservation policy actions. It’s time we provide a more nuanced and species-specific approach to recovering these imperiled birds.”