Elected representatives in government are in charge of the policy and funding that can make or break saving threatened species. Their decisions and actions matter.

Melbourne has or used to have 18 threatened animals within its boundaries. One of them is me, the Plains-wanderer.

We took care to attach appropriate images that are as close to representative of each species as our resources and the availability of images allowed. However, we could not ensure perfect accuracy in every case. Some images show species that share the same genus but not at the species or subspecies level.

Plains-wanderer

Pedionomus torquatus

Status: Critically Endangered

The Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (EPBC Act) lists threatened species under six categories:
Extinct, Extinct in the wild, Critically Endangered, Endangered, Vulnerable, Conservation dependent. Read more about these categories

Pedionomus torquatus is found across 37 electorates.

The plains wanderer is a highly unique, ground-dwelling bird that lives in the grasslands of Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria and South Australia. It is a very ancient member of Australia's avifauna, with its origins tracing back over 60 million years. Plains wanderers inhabit sparse native grasslands and are often absent from areas where grass becomes too dense or too sparse. They nest amongst native grasses and herbs, or sometimes amongst crops, feeding on a mixture of seeds, invertebrates and leaves.¹

Explore more about this species on the Atlas of Living Australia

Climate change and severe weather