Australia: mallee emuwren in danger

From BirdLife:

Aussie battler contends with drought and fires

10-08-2006

Habitat fragmentation caused by drought and associated fires threatens one of Australia’s most elusive arid-zone residents—the Mallee Emuwren Stipiturus mallee.

Confined to inland South Australia and Victoria, the emuwren is dependent on significant areas of Triodia—commonly called spinifex or Porcupine grass because of its needle-like “leaves”—that has been unburned for around two decades.

But years of drought, particularly in the southern and western parts of the emuwren’s range, have affected the health of the spinifex and almost led to the emuwren’s extinction in South Australia where the last significant population comprises 100 birds confined to 100 km² of Ngarkat Conservation Park, down from thousands of individuals spread over 2,000 km² in the early to mid 1990s—a 95% reduction in area occupied.