<
https://theconversation.com/meet-the-eastern-bristlebird-tragically-under-appreciated-and-one-fire-away-from-local-extinction-175245>
"In 1962, renowned American conservationist Rachel Carson wrote a book entitled
“Silent Spring” after she noticed the birdsong she used to wake up to as a
child had been thinning. Its eventual absence had become almost deafening.
This deep dive into one of the tragedies of biodiversity loss eventually became
one of the most influential works contributing to changes in legislation and
practices surrounding the use of pesticides in the United States, and
worldwide.
Its title, however, continues to resonate with many of us: birds (and frogs,
insects, and many other animals) seem to announce their arrivals with songs and
calls. Their absence becomes notable when the singing stops, and silence takes
over.
Such has been the case in Australia for the under-appreciated, endangered
eastern bristlebird (
Dasyornis brachypterus).
Once common, its numbers have declined so dramatically in the past 40 years
that only three populations remain in the central east coast of Australia. The
northernmost population, found in southeast Queensland, has as few as 70 birds.
So why should we care about one more, seemingly unremarkable little brown bird
in the forest?"
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
