The regent honeyeater (Anthochaera phrygia) is a critically endangered bird endemic to southeastern Australia. Today only twenty-five per cent of the original coverage remains, mostly on less fertile soils which are marginal habitat for this species. The Regent Honeyeater (Anthochaera phrygia), for example, is a critically endangered bird endemic to southeastern Australia. The Regent Honeyeater project aims to: increase the population of several threatened species in the Lurg Hills particularly the Regent Honeyeater, Grey Crowned Babbler, Squirrel Glider and Brush-tailed Phascogale; protect and restore all significant [5] Nest success, and productivity of successful nests, has been found to be low in this species, with nest surveillance revealing high predation by a range of bird and arboreal mammal species. The population of one of Australia’s most endangered species will be bolstered, with 20 conservation-bred regent honeyeaters released into the wild. The loss of habitat, as well as the domination by Noisy Miners, is increasing the difficulty faced by the Regent Honeyeaters to find suitable habitat to breed and source adequate food supplies. [9] In 1999 the three main breeding areas were the Bundarra-Barraba area and Capertee Valley of New South Wales, and north-eastern Victoria. The neck and head are glossy black. It feeds primarily on nectar from eucalyptus and mistletoe species, and to a lesser extent on insects and their honeydew. Habitat Requirements and Limiting Factors Regent Honeyeaters occur mainly in box-ironbark open-forests on the inland slopes of the Great Dividing Range. The Regent Honeyeater feeds mainly on nectar from a small number of eucalypt species, acting as a pollinator for many flowering plants. You can also find out more information about Australia's threatened species by calling the Department of the Environment and Heritage's Community Information Unit on free call 1800 803 772, John Gorton Building Regent Honeyeaters occur mainly in dry box ironbark open-forest and woodland areas inland of the Great Dividing Range, particularly favouring those on the wettest, most fertile soils, such a… Much work was being done to ensure that the birds had sources of food, and most of the birds were fitted with tiny radio transmitters so that their movements could be tracked. Today the Regent Honeyeater has become a 'flagship species' for conservation in the threatened box-ironbark forests of Victoria and NSW on which it depends. This was the first release of regent honeyeaters since a similar event in north-eastern Victoria. With about 13 wild birds at the site, it was hoped that those released from captivity would breed with the wild ones and increase the population and diversity. The remaining population in Victoria and NSW is patchy, with little information available on the movement patterns of this highly mobile species. It once could be found as far west as Adelaide, but is now gone from South Australia and western Victoria. Distribution of the regent honeyeater, see file for more details. Fewer than 400 Regent Honeyeaters are thought to occur in the wild, the result of ongoing declines over the past 30 years. [7] As of June 2020[update] their range covers from north-east Victoria up to around the Sunshine Coast, Queensland,[8] but the population is now scattered. Canberra ACT 2601 Regent honeyeater is classified as critically endangered (remaining population consists of less than 1.200 birds). The Regent Honeyeater conservation breeding program welcomed an additional two pairs of … See our advice and support. Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment, Threatened species & ecological communities, Threatened species and ecological communities publications, Listed species and ecological community permits, Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999, © Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment. [13], The regent honeyeater is listed as critically endangered on the IUCN Red List,[1] and was listed as endangered under both Australia's Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 and Queensland's Nature Conservation Act 1992. I aim to identify factors that explain this disproportionate decline, in order to assist the conservation of the Regent Honeyeater … Over 180 birds have been released previously (2008, 2010, 2013, and 2015). Regent honeyeaters are highly mobile and extremely elusive. Ask firewood merchants where their timber comes from and avoid box iron-bark species where possible.