Victoria could be facing a wave of extinctions following a dramatic crash in bird numbers in the state’s Box-Ironbark forests over the past five years.
A systematic study across northern and central Victoria (covering a 30,000 km2 region) over the past 15 years shows that about two-thirds of bird species, including lorikeets, pardalotes, thornbills, honeyeaters, have declined dramatically.
Most worrying is that species thought to be secure, such as the Red Wattlebird, Striated Pardalote, Grey Shrikethrush and Laughing Kookaburra, have declined as much as or more than species already of conservation concern.