Threatened species

Under the State Nature Conservation Act 1992 there are currently 49 bird species and subspecies listed as threatened  in Queensland in addition to 14 pelagic birds. The following list is derived from the Queensland Department of Environment Land and Water website.

Articles on some of these threatened species were posted on Birds Queensland’s Facebook page prior to the 2015 State election, with the extinct Paradise Parrot posted on Election Day. Where birds in the list below are indicated, you can follow the link to an article with more detail (†some require you to be logged in with a facebook account).

Further Information on the status of species is available at:

• http://www.ehp.qld.gov.au/wildlife/threatened-species/
• http://www.birdlife.org.au/projects/threatened-bird-network/threatened-birds
• http://www.environment.gov.au/cgi-bin/sprat/public/publicthreatenedlist.pl?wanted=fauna

This list was updated in May 2022, based on the published status evaluation of Nov 2021. Those entries marked with an asterisk have been given a higher threat status than they had in 2015. No species has improved.

Extinct in the wild

Paradise Parrot † Psephotus pulcherrimus

Critically Endangered (4 taxa)

* Regent honeyeater Anthochaera phrygia
* Curlew Sandpiper Calidris ferruginea
* Great Knot Calidris tenuirostris
* Plains-wanderer Pedionomus torquatus

Endangered (23 taxa)

* Australasian Bittern Botaurus poiciloptilus
* Australian Painted Snipe Rostratula australis
Black-Throated Finch (White-Rumped Subspecies) Poephila cincta cincta
* Buff-Breasted Button-Quail Turnix olivii
* Carpentarian Grasswren Amytornis dorotheae
Coxen’s Fig-Parrot Cyclopsitta diophthalma coxeni
Crimson Finch (White-Bellied Subspecies) Neochmia phaeton evangelinae
Eastern Bristlebird † Dasyornis brachypterus
* Eastern Curlew Numenius madagascariensis
Golden-Shouldered Parrot Psephotus chrysopterygius
Gouldian Finch Erythrura gouldiae
* Grey Grasswren (Bulloo) Amytornis barbatus barbatus
* Lesser Sand Plover Charadrius mongolus
* New Caledonian Fairy Tern Sternula nereis exsul
Night Parrot Pezoporus occidentalis
* Northern Siberian Bar-Tailed Godwit Limosa lapponica menzbieri
Red Goshawk Erythrotriorchis radiatus
* Red Knot Calidris canutus
Southern Cassowary (Southern Population) Casuarius casuarius johnsonii
* Southern Palm Cockatoo Probosciger aterrimus macgillivrayi
Star Finch (Eastern Subspecies) Neochmia ruficauda ruficauda
Swift Parrot Lathamus discolor
Yellow Chat (Dawson) Epthianura crocea macgregori

Vulnerable Birds (23 taxa)

Beach Stone-Curlew Esacus magnirostris
Black-Breasted Button-Quail Turnix melanogaster
Eclectus Parrot (Cape York Peninsula) Eclectus roratus macgillivrayi
* Eungella Honeyeater Bolemoreus hindwoodi
Glossy Black-Cockatoo Calyptorhynchus lathami
* Greater Sand Plover Charadrius leschenaultii
* Grey Falcon Falco hypoleucos
Ground Parrot Pezoporus wallicus wallicus
Macleay’s Fig-Parrot Cyclopsitta diophthalma macleayana
Major Mitchell’s Cockatoo Lophochroa leadbeateri
Masked Owl (Northern Subspecies) Tyto novaehollandiae kimberli
Painted Honeyeater Grantiella picta
Plumed Frogmouth Podargus ocellatus plumiferus
Powerful Owl Ninox strenua
Purple-Crowned Fairy-Wren Malurus coronatus
Red-Tailed Tropicbird Phaethon rubricauda
Rufous Scrub-Bird Atrichornis rufescens
Southern Cassowary (Northern Population) Casuarius casuarius johnsonii
Southern Emu-Wren Stipiturus malachurus
Squatter Pigeon (Southern Subspecies) Geophaps scripta scripta
* Western Alaskan Bar-Tailed Godwit Limosa lapponica baueri
* White-Throated Needletail Hirundapus caudacutus
Yellow Chat (Gulf) Epthianura crocea crocea

Sea Birds – Procellariiformes (tubenoses)

Critically Endangered (1 taxon)

* Herald petrel Pterodroma heraldica

Endangered (3 taxa)

* Grey-headed albatross Thalassarche chrysostoma
* Shy albatross Thalassarche cauta
Southern giant-petrel Macronectes giganteus

Vulnerable (10 taxa)

Antipodean albatross Diomedea antipodensis antipodensis
* Blue Petrel Halobaena caerulea
Buller’s albatross Thalassarche bulleri
Gibson’s albatross Diomedea antipodensis gibsoni
Indian yellow-nosed albatross Thalassarche carteri
Northern giant-petrel Macronectes halli
Sooty albatross Phoebetria fusca
Wandering albatross Diomedea exulans
White-capped albatross Thalassarche steadi
* Wedge-Tailed Shearwater Ardenna pacifica

Revised

May 2022 (based on status evaluation of Nov 2021)
* a species with an asterisk has a higher threat status than in 2015.