Lake Magenta Nature Reserve
Encyclopedia
Nature reserve
A nature reserve is a protected area of importance for wildlife, flora, fauna or features of geological or other special interest, which is reserved and managed for conservation and to provide special opportunities for study or research...
, making it one of the largest such reserves in the Avon Wheatbelt
Avon Wheatbelt
Avon Wheatbelt is an Interim Biogeographic Regionalisation for Australia region in Western Australia and part of the larger Southwest Australia savanna ecoregion.-Further reading:...
region of Western Australia
Western Australia
Western Australia is a state of Australia, occupying the entire western third of the Australian continent. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Great Australian Bight and Indian Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east and South Australia to the south-east...
. It is named after Lake Magenta
Lake Magenta
Lake Magenta is an ephemeral salt lake in the Wheatbelt area of Western Australia.The lake is located approximately North East of Jerramungup and approximately West of Ravensthorpe....
, which lies just within its eastern boundary.
Important Bird Area
A 1327 km2 area of land comprising the reserve (with the exception of Lake Magenta itself), together with a large tract of unallocated crown landCrown land
In Commonwealth realms, Crown land is an area belonging to the monarch , the equivalent of an entailed estate that passed with the monarchy and could not be alienated from it....
to its east, has been identified by BirdLife International
BirdLife International
BirdLife International is a global Partnership of conservation organisations that strives to conserve birds, their habitats and global biodiversity, working with people towards sustainability in the use of natural resources...
as an Important Bird Area
Important Bird Area
An Important Bird Area is an area recognized as being globally important habitat for the conservation of bird populations. Currently there are about 10,000 IBAs worldwide. The program was developed and sites are identified by BirdLife International...
(IBA) because it contains core habitat for Malleefowl
Malleefowl
The Malleefowl is a stocky ground-dwelling Australian bird about the size of a domestic chicken...
as well as populations of Regent Parrot
Regent Parrot
The Regent Parrot is a bird of the parrot family . It has predominantly yellow plumage with a green tail. The bird is found primarily in eucalyptus groves and other wooded areas of subtropical southwestern Australia, as well as to a smaller area of subtropical and temperate southeastern Australia...
s, Western Rosella
Western Rosella
The Western Rosella Platycercus icterotis, less commonly known as the Stanley Rosella, Earl of Derby's parakeet or Yellow-cheeked parakeet, is the smallest species of rosella and is found in the South West of Australia. in Eucalypt forests and timbered areas. These are smallish parrots measuring ...
s, Red-capped Parrot
Red-capped Parrot
The Red-capped Parrot , also called the Pileated Parakeet , and King Parrot locally in Western Australia, is an Australian species of broad-tailed parrot related to the Rosellas.First described by German naturalist Heinrich Kuhl in 1820, from a collection in Albany,...
s, Blue-breasted Fairy-wren
Blue-breasted Fairy-wren
The Blue-breasted Fairywren is a species of bird in the Maluridae family.It is endemic to Australia.The range of the Blue-breasted Wren is inland south-western Western Australia and the Eyre Peninsula of South Australia...
s, Purple-gaped Honeyeater
Purple-gaped Honeyeater
The Purple-gaped Honeyeater is a species of bird in the Meliphagidae family.It is endemic to Australia.Its natural habitat is Mediterranean-type shrubby vegetation.-References:...
s and Western Yellow Robin
Western Yellow Robin
The Western Yellow Robin is a species of bird in the Petroicidae family. It is endemic to Australia, and sometimes known overseas as the Grey-breasted Robin....
s - all species restricted to the mallee
Mallee (biogeographic region)
Mallee, also known as Roe Botanical District, is a biogeographic region in southern Western Australia. Located between the Esperance Plains, Avon Wheatbelt and Coolgardie regions, it has a low, gently undulating topography, a semi-arid mediterranean climate, and extensive Eucalyptus mallee...
and south-western biome
Biome
Biomes are climatically and geographically defined as similar climatic conditions on the Earth, such as communities of plants, animals, and soil organisms, and are often referred to as ecosystems. Some parts of the earth have more or less the same kind of abiotic and biotic factors spread over a...
. The endangered Carnaby's Cockatoo occurs in the IBA, though its status there is uncertain.