Prince Regent and Mitchell River Important Bird Area
Encyclopedia
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 includes the Mitchell Plateau.
Description
The site consists of the Prince Regent Nature ReservePrince Regent Nature Reserve
Prince Regent Nature Reserve is a protected area in the Kimberley region of Western Australia. In 1978 the area was nominated as a UNESCO World Biosphere Reserve.-Description:...
, the Mitchell River
Mitchell River National Park (Western Australia)
Mitchell River National Park is a national park in the Kimberley region of Western Australia , northeast of Perth. The park adjoins the northern boundary of the Prince Regent Nature Reserve. The nearest towns are Derby which is to the southwest and Wyndham which is to the southeast...
and Lawley River National Parks, and the Camp Creek and Laterite Conservation Parks. The climate is monsoon
Monsoon
Monsoon is traditionally defined as a seasonal reversing wind accompanied by corresponding changes in precipitation, but is now used to describe seasonal changes in atmospheric circulation and precipitation associated with the asymmetric heating of land and sea...
al; the average annual rainfall of over 1200 mm is the highest in the north-west Kimberley, sustaining the richest patches of rainforest in the region. Because it has not been stocked with cattle, which damage woodland
Woodland
Ecologically, a woodland is a low-density forest forming open habitats with plenty of sunlight and limited shade. Woodlands may support an understory of shrubs and herbaceous plants including grasses. Woodland may form a transition to shrubland under drier conditions or during early stages of...
habitats, riverine vegetation and alluvial
Alluvium
Alluvium is loose, unconsolidated soil or sediments, eroded, deposited, and reshaped by water in some form in a non-marine setting. Alluvium is typically made up of a variety of materials, including fine particles of silt and clay and larger particles of sand and gravel...
flats, it carries relatively high densities of key bird species. Much of the country is rugged, constituted of King Leopold
King Leopold Ranges
The King Leopold Ranges are a range of hills in the western Kimberley region of Western Australia. Crossed by the Gibb River Road about east of Derby, part of the ranges are covered by the King Leopold Ranges Conservation National Park, managed by the Department of Environment and Conservation...
sandstone
Sandstone
Sandstone is a sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized minerals or rock grains.Most sandstone is composed of quartz and/or feldspar because these are the most common minerals in the Earth's crust. Like sand, sandstone may be any colour, but the most common colours are tan, brown, yellow,...
s. The Mitchell Plateau is a bauxitic
Bauxite
Bauxite is an aluminium ore and is the main source of aluminium. This form of rock consists mostly of the minerals gibbsite Al3, boehmite γ-AlO, and diaspore α-AlO, in a mixture with the two iron oxides goethite and hematite, the clay mineral kaolinite, and small amounts of anatase TiO2...
laterite
Laterite
Laterites are soil types rich in iron and aluminium, formed in hot and wet tropical areas. Nearly all laterites are rusty-red because of iron oxides. They develop by intensive and long-lasting weathering of the underlying parent rock...
plateau with Livistona
Livistona
Livistona is a genus of 36 species of palms , native to southern and southeastern Asia, Australasia, and the Horn of Africa...
palm forests. On the coast there are substantial areas of mangrove
Mangrove
Mangroves are various kinds of trees up to medium height and shrubs that grow in saline coastal sediment habitats in the tropics and subtropics – mainly between latitudes N and S...
s.
Threats
Threats to the area’s biodiversityBiodiversity
Biodiversity is the degree of variation of life forms within a given ecosystem, biome, or an entire planet. Biodiversity is a measure of the health of ecosystems. Biodiversity is in part a function of climate. In terrestrial habitats, tropical regions are typically rich whereas polar regions...
come from uncontrolled bushfires
Bushfires in Australia
Bushfires in Australia are frequently occurring events during the hotter months of the year due to Australia's mostly hot, dry climate. Large areas of land are ravaged every year by bushfires, which also cause property damage and loss of life....
, feral animals (especially cats
Feral cat
A feral cat is a descendant of a domesticated cat that has returned to the wild. It is distinguished from a stray cat, which is a pet cat that has been lost or abandoned, while feral cats are born in the wild; the offspring of a stray cat can be considered feral if born in the wild.In many parts of...
), and increasing numbers of wild cattle
Cattle
Cattle are the most common type of large domesticated ungulates. They are a prominent modern member of the subfamily Bovinae, are the most widespread species of the genus Bos, and are most commonly classified collectively as Bos primigenius...
.
Birds
The site has been identified by BirdLife InternationalBirdLife 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 supports the largest known population of the western subspecies
Subspecies
Subspecies in biological classification, is either a taxonomic rank subordinate to species, ora taxonomic unit in that rank . A subspecies cannot be recognized in isolation: a species will either be recognized as having no subspecies at all or two or more, never just one...
of the Partridge Pigeon
Partridge Pigeon
The Partridge Pigeon is a species of bird in the Columbidae family.It is endemic to Australia.Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical dry shrubland and subtropical or tropical dry lowland grassland....
as well as Chestnut Rail
Chestnut Rail
The Chestnut Rail is a species of bird in the Rallidae family. The Chestnut Rail is monotypical of its genus.It is found in Australia and Indonesia.Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical mangrove forests....
s, White-quilled Rock-Pigeon
White-quilled Rock-Pigeon
The White-quilled Rock Pigeon is a species of bird in the Columbidae family. It is endemic to Australia.-References:* BirdLife International 2004. . Downloaded on 24 July 2007....
s and Rainbow Pitta
Rainbow Pitta
The Rainbow Pitta, Pitta iris, is a bird with a velvet black head and underparts, green upperparts, pale blue shoulder and olive green tail. It has a black bill, pink legs, brown eye and reddish brown streak along each side of its crown...
s. It contains most of the world populations of Black Grasswren
Black Grasswren
The Black Grasswren is a species of bird in the Maluridae family.It is endemic to Western Australia.Its natural habitat is Mediterranean-type shrubby vegetation....
s and Kimberley Honeyeater
Kimberley Honeyeater
The Kimberley Honeyeater is a bird in the Meliphagidae, or Honeyeater family. It was formerly lumped with the White-lined Honeyeater but, based on DNA research, it is now considered a separate species...
s. It also supports several species restricted to tropical savanna habitats
Tropical and subtropical grasslands, savannas, and shrublands
Tropical and subtropical grasslands, savannas, and shrublands are a grassland terrestrial biome located in semi-arid to semi-humid climate regions of subtropical and tropical latitudes. Grasslands are dominated by grass and other herbaceous plants. Savannas are grasslands with scattered trees...
, Chestnut-backed Buttonquails, Varied Lorikeet
Varied Lorikeet
The Varied Lorikeet is a species of parrot in the Psittacidae family.It is endemic to northern Australia.-Description:...
s, Northern Rosella
Northern Rosella
The Northern Rosella , also known as Brown's Parakeet or Smutty Rosella, is found in Australia's Top End. It is unusually coloured for a rosella, with a dark crown and white cheeks similar to its relatives the Pale-headed Rosella and the Eastern Rosella.At 28 cm long it is smaller than all bar...
s, White-gaped
White-gaped Honeyeater
The White-gaped Honeyeater is a species of bird in the Meliphagidae family.It is endemic to Australia.Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests and subtropical or tropical mangrove forests....
, Yellow-tinted
Yellow-tinted Honeyeater
The Yellow-tinted Honeyeater is a species of bird in the Meliphagidae family.It is found in Australia and Papua New Guinea....
, Bar-breasted
Bar-breasted Honeyeater
The Bar-breasted Honeyeater is a species of bird in the Meliphagidae family.It is endemic to Australia.-References:* BirdLife International 2004. . Downloaded on 27 July 2007....
and Banded Honeyeater
Banded Honeyeater
The Banded Honeyeater is a species of bird in the Meliphagidae family.It is endemic to Australia.Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical dry forests, subtropical or tropical mangrove forests, and Mediterranean-type shrubby vegetation.-References:* BirdLife International 2004. . ...
s, Silver-crowned Friarbird
Silver-crowned Friarbird
The Silver-crowned Friarbird is a species of bird in the Meliphagidae family.It is endemic to Australia.Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical dry forests and subtropical or tropical mangrove forests.-References:...
s, Sandstone Shrike-thrush
Sandstone Shrike-thrush
The Sandstone Shrikethrush is a species of bird in the Colluricinclidae family.It is endemic to Australia.-References:* BirdLife International 2004. . Downloaded on 25 July 2007....
es, White-browed Robin
White-browed Robin
The White-browed Robin is a species of bird in the family Petroicidae. It is endemic to north-eastern Australia. Its natural habitats are forest, woodland and scrub, often near water...
s, Canary White-eyes, Masked
Masked Finch
The Masked Finch is a small passerine bird in the estrildid finch family, Estrildidae. It is a common resident of dry savanna across northern Australia, from the Kimberley, across the Top End, the Gulf country and the southern part of Cape York Peninsula, as far east as Chillagoe, but always near...
and Long-tailed Finch
Long-tailed Finch
The Long-tailed Finch is a common species of estrildid finch found in Australia; also known as the Blackheart Finch, Shaft-tail Finch, Heck's Grassfinch, Heck's Grass Finch, and Heck's Finch. It is a predominantly fawn-coloured bird with a pale grey head and prominent black bib and eyes...
es.
Other animals
The area is one of only two in Australia that retains a largely intact mammalMammal
Mammals are members of a class of air-breathing vertebrate animals characterised by the possession of endothermy, hair, three middle ear bones, and mammary glands functional in mothers with young...
fauna. It contains populations of Golden Bandicoot
Golden Bandicoot
The Golden Bandicoot is a short-nosed bandicoot found in northern Australia. It is by far the smallest of its genus, being a little over half the size of its relatives the Northern Brown Bandicoot and the Southern Brown Bandicoot .The Golden Bandicoot is now a threatened species...
s, Golden-backed Tree Rat
Golden-Backed Tree Rat
The Golden-backed Tree Rat is a species of rodent in the family Muridae.It is found only in Australia....
s, Scaly-tailed Possum
Scaly-tailed Possum
The Scaly-tailed Possum or the Ilangnalya is found in northwestern Australia. It is restricted to the Kimberley region in Western Australia...
s, Monjon
Monjon
The Monjon , also known as the Warabi and Burbridge's Rock Weasel, is the smallest of the many species of rock-wallaby found in Australia. It is found in areas of the Kimberley region of Western Australia and also on some islands in the Bonaparte Archipelago.The Monjon was described in 1978, having...
s and Kimberley Rock Rats. The rich herpetofauna
Herpetology
Herpetology is the branch of zoology concerned with the study of amphibians and reptiles...
found in the many small rainforest patches includes endemic reptile
Reptile
Reptiles are members of a class of air-breathing, ectothermic vertebrates which are characterized by laying shelled eggs , and having skin covered in scales and/or scutes. They are tetrapods, either having four limbs or being descended from four-limbed ancestors...
s such as the Rough-scaled Python
Morelia carinata
Morelia carinata, the Rough-scaled python, is a large scaled python species found in Australia. No subspecies are currently recognized.-Description:...
. There are several species of camaenid land snails
Camaenidae
Camaenidae is a family of air-breathing land snails, terrestrial pulmonate gastropod mollusks in the superfamily Helicoidea.This is one of the most diverse families in the clade Stylommatophora....
.