Ardeotis australis occurs across continental
Australia and occasionally in southern
Papua New Guinea and Papua (formerly Irian Jaya),
Indonesia. The total population is thought number less than 100,000 birds (S. Garnett
in litt. 2003), and almost certainly more than 10,000 mature individuals (Garnett
et al. 2011), with the majority occurring in northern Australia. It is rarely recorded on the plains of south-western Papua New Guinea. It has all but disappeared from south-eastern Australia, and is less abundant elsewhere, particularly south of the tropics. Local population size varies strongly with rainfall (Ziembicki and Woinarski 2007)
making assessment of trends difficult, however population loss in southern Australia is believed to have been largely historical, and the population in the north is thought to be relatively stable. Satellite-tracking has provided substantial information on dispersal in this species, suggesting that populations in higher-rainfall northern Australia undergo relatively local dispersal, whereas those in lower-rainfall areas may undergo far more substantial regional and inter-regional movements (J. Woinarski
in litt. 2007). In southern and central Queensland, this species appears to move eastwards in autumn, retracting westwards later in the year (J. Woinarski
in litt. 2007).
Rights Holder: International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources
Bibliographic Citation: BirdLife International 2012.
Ardeotis australis. In: IUCN 2014 . IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2014.1 . <
www.iucnredlist.org>
