SYDNEY, Oct. 22 (Xinhua) -- The state government of Australia's New South Wales (NSW) said on Sunday that Mukarrthippi Grasswren, one of the country's rarest birds, has been found expanding its known range to new areas.
According to the NSW government, at least six birds were recently detected at three locations within Yathong Nature Reserve. These new sites, brimming with the bird's preferred spinifex and mallee, are located over 6 km away from the previously known habitat.
The wildlife authority is declaring core habitat as an asset of intergenerational significance to shield the critically endangered Mukarrthippi Grasswren, along with special fire management plans being developed.
"The Mukarrthippi Grasswren is one of Australia's rarest birds so finding more of them in new locations is a huge boost to our efforts to prevent its extinction," NSW Minister for the Environment Penny Sharpe said.
"NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service is working to protect and restore this very elusive bird through fire management and feral animal control strategies," the minister added.
Mukarrthippi Grasswren is a subspecies of the striated grasswren endemic to NSW, measuring 14.5 to 19 cm long and weighing 15 to 23 grams. It earned its name "Mukarrthippi" from the language of local Indigenous people, which means "small bird of the spinifex."
The bird is distinctive for its slender bill, long blackish-brown tail, and soft reddish-brown upper part with white streaks.
The NSW government flagged the Australian bird as "most likely to go extinct," given a significant 60-percent risk by 2041. In 2021, the total population was estimated to be between four and 20 birds. ■
