Scientists estimate the endangered bird’s population has slumped to about 750. But the logging agency responsible for clearing its habitat said it acted lawfully * Sign up for climate and environment editor Adam Morton’s free Clear Air newsletter here They are sounds from a section of forest that no longer exists. In December and January, scientists for the Bob Brown Foundation captured the call of the swift parrot, a critically endangered migratory species. The environment campaign group says it was recorded in an area marked for clear-felling in the Wielangta forest in Tasmania’s south-east. The foundation’s Dr Charley Gros said the vocal mark of the world’s fastest parrot was unmistakable. “It’s a tiny bird but has a very loud call,” he said. “It’s very sharp and quick and fast. You can’t confuse it with something else.” Continue reading...

The chances of finding one mammal species thought to be lost was ‘almost zero’ and finding two is ‘unprecedented’, biologist Tim Flannery says

During black summer, my daughters were too young to know what was happening. Now, amid another Australian heatwave, they deserve answers When the forecasts for this week started to roll in, my mind immediately drifted back to Australia’s black summer. I had taken my daughters down to the pool in our estate in western Sydney, hoping for a brief reprieve from the relentless heat. The Gospers Mountain fire was raging in the Blue Mountains, but on that particular day the smoke didn’t seem too bad. Continue reading...

Legislation to reform the EPBC Act runs to hundreds of pages – here are the main changes

Mistletoes occur worldwide, with most relying on birds to disperse their sticky seeds to suitable host trees. There has been considerable ecological research on these interactions, emphasizing those b...

Swinging wildly from confident to confused, and permanently dishevelled, this most relatable of cuckoos blunders through life as best it can * Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcast * See more Australian bird of the year content A sudden thud made me look up from my work. A stack of books sprawled across the floor. There were folders too, the contents fanned out like a deck of cards. In the middle, unperturbed by the mess it was creating, a pheasant coucal sauntered down the hallway. The bird was a feathered wrecking ball. In those days, I lived in a traditional Queenslander. The hall was once a veranda running the full length of the house. It had been enclosed with louvres to make a pleasant, airy office. I’d leave the door open to catch the breeze. To wildlife, an open door is an invitation. I’d been visited by a grey fantail, an entire family of pied butcherbirds and a brush-turkey, who had entered with uncharacteristic stealth and made off with a shoe. This was the first pheasant coucal. Continue reading...

Conservationists call for an end to native forest logging in NSW after the state’s forestry corporation is accused of logging breaches in Tallaganda State Forest.

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Changes of Note GDAL VSI Support @normanb added support for GDAL VSI in #4647. It is now possible to use VSI to control access to remote content. Any /vsi-prefixed file path will go through GDAL's...

Native Australian quolls and possums are thriving in the Ikara-Flinders Ranges National Park in South Australia after they were first reintroduced.

Until now, little was known about foraging flights of critically endangered southern bent-wing bats, which roost in caves * Get Guardian Australia environment editor Adam Morton’s Clear Air column as an email * Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcast A tiny, critically endangered bat – roughly the size of a matchbox – can fly about 150km in a single night, new research has found. Southern bent-wing bats roost in caves in south-west Victoria and south-east South Australia. They fly out at night in search of food, eating about half their body weight in insects. Continue reading...

Three hours north of Brisbane, a group of greater gliders is living in a section of the St Mary State Forest set to be logged, despite them being a protected species.

Vaccination is recommended for those at highest risk. Once fully vaccinated, it can take between 2 to 4 weeks for your body to develop a protective immune response to the disease, so if you’re eligibl...

The Kimberley, the northernmost region of Australia’s largest jurisdiction, Western Australia, is remote and difficult to access due to its rugged terrain. With a permanent population of just 40,000 i...