Grey Range Thick-billed Grasswren
Amytornis modestus obscurior
Australia's Threatened Species Category
Critically Endangered
Listed since: Tue Jun 10 2014 14:00:00 GMT+0000 (Coordinated Universal Time)
IUCN's Threatened Species Category
Least Concern
Listed since: Sat Jan 09 2016 14:00:00 GMT+0000 (Coordinated Universal Time)
Population trend: Decreasing
Other names: Thick-billed Grasswren (north-west NSW)
Priority Species? No
The Australian government's Threatened Species Action Plan 2022-2032 selected over 100 priority species derived from consultation with threatened species experts and the wider community. While all species are important, focusing on a limited number of species can help target effort and resources so that outcomes can be achieved, measured and shared.
Description
Thick-billed grasswrens were once widely but patchily distributed across New South Wales, the Northern Territory and South Australia. However, widespread change in land use and overgrazing caused substantial declines across their range
Threats
Overgrazing by sheep, cattle, feral goats and rabbits, particularly in combination with drought which reduces available vegetation, is thought to be the main threat to thick-billed grasswrens. Thick-billed grasswrens (north-west New South Wales) have also been identified as one of 20 terrestrial Australian bird species rated most sensitive to climate change and one of 39
Australian bird species, occupying terrestrial and inland waters, most exposed to either a loss of climate space or a reduction in climatic suitability.