Australian Field Ornithology 2015, 32, 118–142

Changes in the bird community in the Pilliga Forests, , between 1918 and 2004

E.D. Cleland

39 Charlton Street, Nambucca Heads NSW 2448, Email: [email protected]

Summary. In October 2004, a traverse through the Pilliga State Forests (the Pilliga Scrub) was undertaken and sixteen 2-ha area searches for birds were conducted periodically along the approximate route traversed in October 1918 by Dr J.B. Cleland, who also recorded birds. The 2-ha survey bird lists were combined into one list, which is compared with the list and counts published by Dr Cleland. The two lists are snapshots of the Pilliga Scrub bird communities of their day; the species in each list are broadly similar, but with different relative abundances. The bird community has changed, reflecting changes in the vegetation as land use has changed from pastoral to less disruptive forestry and conservation. The 1918 bird community is similar in structure to those found in fragmented remnant woodland of the Southern Brigalow Belt today, and the 2004 bird community is similar to those of continuous, less disturbed Southern Brigalow Belt vegetation.

Introduction The Pilliga State Forests lie within the region bounded by the towns of , and Pilliga. Together with the Pilliga Nature Reserve, Pilliga National Park and Pilliga State Conservation Area, they comprise the area known as the Pilliga Scrub, which exceeds 500 000 ha, and is the largest remnant of native vegetation in the Brigalow Belt South bioregion [a bioregion covering an area of 279 496 000 ha between Townsville, Queensland, and Dubbo, New South Wales (NSW)]. The bioregion covers a large climatic range from north to south, and lies on a gradient between the dry inland and the wetter coastal zone farther east; it includes a large part of eastern Australia within the annual rainfall band of 500–750 mm. The bioregion is environmentally heterogeneous, is rich in biodiversity and has a diverse avifauna. It has been extensively cleared for agriculture, with much of the remaining vegetation grazed and logged (RACAC 2000). Dr John Burton Cleland (JBC) published a bird list for a journey he took from Narrabri to and back through the Pilliga Scrub (Cleland 1919) from 6 to 16 October 1918 based on the detailed observations that he took at the time. He subsequently published ‘A method of taking a bird census’ in the journal Emu (Cleland 1922), which elaborated on the observation method adopted during the Pilliga journey and challenged successors: by recording results at the present time and making the same journeys again after, say, some years’ interval, some idea might be obtained as to whether any species was decreasing markedly in numbers, holding its own, or increasing. What interesting results might not be obtained a century later! (Cleland 1922, p. 19). Birds of Pilliga Forests, NSW: 1918 and 2004 119

JBC does not claim it, but his October 1918 journey was in reality a scientific expedition. As well as the published bird list, at least 19 bird specimens were taken (shot), skins, crop and stomach contents and intestinal parasites preserved; stomachs with insect remains sent to the South Australian Museum, seeds to the NSW Government Botanist and, presumably, parasites to the NSW Government Bureau of Microbiology. Two hundred and sixty-seven species of vascular plants and 29 fungi were identified, with specimens given to the NSW Government Botanist, adding 245 species to the Pilliga plant list at the time. A resultant botanic revision was published (Maiden et al. 1920). At the time of JBC’s survey, the tenure of the Pilliga Scrub was part State Forest, part private and part vacant Crown Land. Today it is part State Forest (reduced in area) and several categories of conservation reserve such as Lanes Mill Flora Reserve and Pilliga Nature Reserve. In 1918, the north-western sections had recently been declared State Forest and the District Forester (Mr Gordon Burrow) undertook the journey with JBC in order to survey the timber resource of the new sections. One and a half days were spent surveying those new sections and two half- days were spent ‘rambling’ and inspecting Common Prickly Pear Opuntia stricta experiments. Elsewhere, the journey was through operating forest, of which some had earlier been taken up by pastoral settlers and then abandoned (Cleland 1918). JBC’s published bird list is partly of birds seen in the recently declared forest, and elsewhere in operating forest, cleared farmland, urban fringe and small towns. In 1918, JBC was Senior Microbiologist at the Government Bureau of Microbiology, . He had been credited with major research achievements in human health, was President of the Royal Society of NSW, anthropologist, ornithologist and botanist (Nairn & Serle 1985). He was a practised observer with scrupulous scientific method. His published Pilliga bird list is endowed with veracity and authority, and the challenge he issued to repeat the journey a century later and compare results is worthy. Important information, such as dates and the detailed route, is omitted from Cleland’s (1919) article, but his journal entitled ‘Trip through Pilliga Scrub, Oct, 1918’ and written in his hand (Cleland 1918) was located at the State Library of South Australia (SLSA). Thus detail not known to others is now available, and allows a reasonable replication of the 1918 journey. From 24 to 26 October 2004, Peter Sommerlad (PS) and E.D. Cleland (EDC) conducted a journey along the approximate route of G. Burrow and JBC, and compiled a list of bird species in order to compare with the 1918 survey. The aim of the present paper is to compare the avifauna recorded by JBC and EDC & PS 86 years later.

Methods Surveys JBC travelled by horse-drawn buggy (‘buggy and pair’), and he recorded the species and numbers of birds identified during this journey. For the purpose of his records of traverses, he divided the journey into stages. When walking, he did the same, making sure that he 120 Australian Field Ornithology E.D. Cleland maintained sufficient progress to minimise the chances of counting the same bird twice. If he returned to camp by the same route, he treated the return journey as a second traverse in order to test the repeatability of method. The entire journey, buggy and walking, was of 15 stages over 189 miles (302 km) (Figure 1, p. 125). JBC created tables of the 15 stages, bird species, counts and density calculations (but did not publish them), and some of the detail from the tables is reflected in the notes provided with his published list (Cleland 1919). JBC walked before departure on five of the travel mornings and went ‘for a ramble’ on two non-travel afternoons. His journal noted times and approximate distance travelled for three stages of the buggy journey, which averaged 6.25 km/h (Cleland 1918). The journal notes for the morning walks were generally similar and, to quote: ‘Up at 6 [0600 h]. After a walk around off at 9 [0900 h]’. Allowing 1 hour each for these morning walks and 3 hours each for the two afternoon walks, the published list is the result of perhaps 11 hours of walked and 48 hours of buggy traverse. The route of traverse included the farmlands about Narrabri, Baradine and Wangan and the urban areas of Narrabri and Baradine. Elsewhere the route was through State Forest (Cleland 1918) (Figure 1). EDC & PS travelled by motor vehicle to Terra Delba Waterhole. There and at intervals along Pilliga Way to Baradine, thence via Old Wooleybah Road to Wangan Bore, Ironbark Crossing, and Railway Survey Road to Kuhners Bore, we conducted bird surveys (Figure 1) using the 2-ha, 20-minute search method (Birds Australia 2002). EDC & PS each walked a separate traverse of 200 m, counting birds identified within 25 m each side. In this manner, 16 2-ha sites were recorded and their positions determined by GPS co-ordinates (Table 1). Fifteen of these sites were in State Forest and one in Lanes Mill Flora Reserve; no observations were made in farmland or urban areas. EDC revisited the same sites at ~3-month intervals until October 2006 and conducted 2-ha searches using the same methods as above; PS participated in some of these.

Analysis of data JBC reported that ‘about 83 species of birds were recognized during the journey of ten days over the 189 miles of country and approximately 1604 individuals’ (Cleland 1919, p. 274). The published list contains 83 species and the total of counts given in the list is 1401 individuals. Counts of 13 species were listed as ‘several’, ‘many’, ‘few’ and ‘some’, with no count number, which explains the discrepancy between the reported 1604 individuals and the total 1401 of the list. The unstated inference is that JBC counted 203 birds of species that he later generalised as ‘several’, etc. To enable a comparison between the two time periods, I ascribed a count of each of the 13 species by interpretation of JBC’s notes, as well as excluding species and individuals that JBC stated to have been only in urban or farm environments. In his published article, JBC included notes to differentiate between birds of restricted and widespread distribution, especially to avoid the distortion to his population calculations of a large number seen in a small area, as well as to comment if a species was seen only in urban areas or farmland (Cleland 1919). Two of the species recorded by JBC—Chestnut- bellied [= King] Quail Coturnix [= Excalfactoria] chinensis and White-breasted [= Black- faced] Cormorant Phalacrocorax fuscescens—have been convincingly questioned by Morris (1976) and probably are misidentified, and thus have also been excluded. EDC & PS counted by species family group (one group of a species = 1) on each occasion that the following were encountered: fairy-wrens Malurus spp., babblers Pomatostomus spp., White-winged Choughs Corcorax melanorhamphos and Apostlebirds Struthidea cinerea. For the purpose of the tables here, I have allowed five individuals for each fairy- wren species family group, seven for each babbler species, 10 for each Chough and 12 for Birds of Pilliga Forests, NSW: 1918 and 2004 121

Table 1. Location and co-ordinates of sites surveyed by EDC & PS in the Pilliga Forests, NSW, in 2004 and 2004–2006.

Location Latitude Longitude

PLG01 Terra Delba Waterhole 30° 34′ 3′′ S 1490 38′ 53′′ E PLG02 Bohena Bore 30° 31′ 38′′ S 1490 36′ 42′′ E PLG03 Sleeper Road 300 32′ 47′′ S 1490 32′ 22′′ E PLG04 Lanes Mill Flora Reserve 300 36′ 28′′ S 1490 24′ 18′′ E PLG05 Coghill Creek 300 36′ 33′′ S 1490 23′ 50′′ E PLG06 Talluga Creek 300 40′ 22′′ S 1490 14′ 36′′ E PLG07 Windup Well 300 44′ 14′′ S 1490 13′ 30′′ E PLG08 Etoo Creek 300 45′ 35′′ S 1490 6′ 39′′ E PLG09 Chews Road 300 54′ 20′′ S 1490 4′ 1′′ E PLG10 Old Wooleybah Road 300 47′ 33′′ S 1480 58′ 22′′ E PLG11 Ironbark Crossing 300 34′ 53′′ S 1490 12′ 11′′ E PLG12 Bens Road 300 35′ 19′′ S 1490 4′ 35′′ E PLG13 Wangan Bore 300 39′ 25′′ S 1480 55′ 50′′ E PLG14 Railway Survey Road 300 35′ 15′′ S 1490 14′ 4′′ E PLG15 Coghill Bore 300 32′ 58′′ S 1490 22′ 2′′ E PLG16 Kuhners Bore 300 30′ 25′′ S 1490 31′ 0′′ E

each Apostlebird family group (group estimates based on survey experience between c. 1998 and 2009 for the remnant vegetation of the Goondiwindi–Narrabri region: EDC pers. obs.). Where combined groups of, for example, Superb Malurus cyaneus and Variegated Fairy- wrens M. lamberti were encountered, these were recorded as one group of each species. For these species, the calculated number of individuals is shown in Appendix 1. JBC recorded both the number of groups and the number of individual birds in each group. Appendix 1 gives his count of individuals. He used species names of the Royal Australasian Ornithologists Union Check-list (date not known) and also of Mathews’ A List of the Birds of Australia (Mathews 1913). His list has been updated using the order and names of the BirdLife Australia Working List for Australian Birds v1.1 (BirdLife Australia 2013). So that the abundances of the species can be more readily compared, the Relative Abundance (RA) of each species in each list has been calculated by dividing the number of individuals of each species by the total of all individuals of all species and representing this as a percentage of the total. The variance of each species between JBC’s list and EDC & PS’s list is calculated by subtracting the RA of JBC’s count from the RA of EDC & PS’s count, and indicates whether species decreased (D), increased (I) or stayed the same (–). No comparison was made (Z) for species that were not recorded in either of these survey periods but that were recorded in the October 2004–2006 surveys. 122 Australian Field Ornithology E.D. Cleland

The October 2004 survey is compared with surveys undertaken in each season at the same 16 sites until October 2006, of which the October 2004 list is the first survey of nine. For each species, the RA and its rank within the observed population were compared between the October 2004 and the 2004–2006 surveys. The objective of the comparison is to understand how well the October 2004 surveys reflect the bird community identified in the sum of all the surveys and to test whether conclusions drawn from the October 2004 data are also consistent with the whole of the data obtained from the period October 2004 to October 2006.

Rainfall Although 1918 was regarded as a drought year, 192 mm of rain fell in July–August of that year, which means that the 1918 spring should have been bountiful. Dry conditions also occurred in 2004, but 95 mm of rain fell in September–October before our visit. For both 1918 and 2004, the rainfall for the preceding year had been low and with significantly dry periods (Figure 2). In the period October 2004–October 2006, rainfall was relatively high in early 2005 but was low in the winter and in drought level in the spring of 2006 (Figure 3) (Bureau of Meteorology 2014).

Results Comparison of survey results from 1918, 2004 and 2004–2006

October 2004 vs October 2004–October 2006 surveys In October 2004, we counted 404 individuals from 64 bird species at our 16 sites (Appendix 1). During the nine seasonal survey periods between October 2004 and October 2006, a total of 144 surveys was conducted at the 16 sites. A total of 2986 individual birds, of 117 species, was observed during these surveys (Appendix 1). When the October 2004 and October 2004–October 2006 lists are sorted by RA, of the top 10 most abundant bird species of each list, seven species are common to both (Weebill Smicrornis brevirostris, Yellow Thornbill Acanthiza nana, White-plumed Honeyeater Lichenostomus penicillatus, Noisy Miner Manorina melanocephala, Grey-crowned Babbler Pomatostomus temporalis, Rufous Whistler Pachycephala rufiventris and Grey Shrike-thrush Colluricincla harmonica) (Tables 2–3). In October 2004, the 10 most abundant species represented 49.3% of the total individuals counted (Table 2), and in October 2004–October 2006, the 10 most abundant bird species accounted for 45.7% of all individuals recorded (Table 3). The three species that are unique to each list of the 10 most abundant species (six species in total) have similar RA rank with the top ten of the list in which they are not present, which reflects the similarity of the structure of the population revealed in the two lists. The total of 64 species identified in October 2004 equates to 54.7% of the 117 species recorded between October 2004 and October 2006.

1918 vs October 2004 surveys JBC recorded 1459 individual birds, of 60 species, of which the ten most numerous species by count represented 70.1% of the total individuals counted 250

Birds of Pilliga Forests, NSW: 1918 and 2004 123

200200

150150

100100 Monthly Monthly rainfall mm. 5050 Monthly rainfall (mm)

00 Nov Dec Jan Feb MarMar AprilApr MayMay JuneJun JulyJul Aug SeptSep Oct Month 1917-1918 2003-2004 Mean all years 1917–1918 2003–2004 Mean all years

Figure 2. Rainfall recorded at Narrabri West Post Office in 1917–1918 and 2003–2004. Mean all years represents mean rainfall in respective months for the period 1891–2011 (Source: Bureau of Meteorology 2014).

300

250

200

150150

100100 Monthly rainfall mm. Monthly rainfall (mm) 50

0 NovNov Dec Jan Feb Mar AprilApr MayMay JuneJun JulJuly Aug SeptSep OctOct 2004-2005 2005Month-2006 Mean all years 2004–2oo5 2005–2006 Mean all years

Figure 3. Rainfall recorded at Narrabri West Post Office in November 2004–October 2006. Mean all years represents mean rainfall in respective months for the period 1891–2011 (Source: Bureau of Meteorology 2014). 124 Australian Field Ornithology E.D. Cleland

Table 2. Ten most numerous bird species in the Pilliga Forests, NSW, by count, October 2004. RA = Relative Abundance (%), sightings = number of groups sighted.

Species Count RA (%) Sightings No. sites

Rufous Whistler 43 10.6 13 Weebill 21 5.2 8 White-plumed Honeyeater 21 5.2 5 Grey-crowned Babbler 21 5.2 3 2 White-winged Chough 20 5.0 2 2 Grey Shrike-thrush 19 4.7 9 Yellow Thornbill 16 4.0 8 Noisy Miner 14 3.5 2 Australian Ringneck 12 3.0 5 Apostlebird 12 3.0 2 1

10 most numerous species 199 49.3

Total count (all bird species) 404

Table 3. Ten most numerous bird species in the Pilliga Forests, NSW, by count, October 2004–October 2006. RA = Relative Abundance (%), sightings = number of groups sighted.

Species Count RA (%) Sightings No. sites

Rufous Whistler 190 6.4 15 Noisy Miner 181 6.1 4 Yellow Thornbill 175 5.9 14 White-plumed Honeyeater 135 4.5 10 White-eared Honeyeater 129 4.3 15 Grey Shrike-thrush 124 4.2 15 Grey-crowned Babbler 119 4.0 17 9 Eastern Yellow Robin 111 3.7 15 Noisy Friarbird 109 3.7 14 Weebill 93 3.1 15

10 most numerous species 1366 45.7

Total count (all bird species) 2986 Birds of Pilliga Forests, NSW: 1918 and 2004 125

20 km

Figure 1. Probable route of J.B. Cleland (1918) and the 2004 survey sites of E.D. Cleland & P. Sommerlad. Thick blue line = probable route of JBC; blue arrows = JBC’s camp sites; yellow boxes = survey sites of EDC & PS; thin red lines = minor roads; green area = forest, woodland; and white area = cleared land, pasture, cultivation. Source: Natmap Raster 2005 1: 250 000 Narrabri sh5512.

(Appendix 1, Table 4). Two (possibly three) species (miners Manorina spp., Apostlebird) accounted for 32.5% and four (possibly five) for 49% of the total individual count. JBC did not determine the species of the most numerous genus (Manorina) but lumped Noisy and Yellow-throated Miners M. flavigula together. Together, they are 19.2% of his total count. He noted that ‘Miners were numerous throughout the whole trip, being often the only bird met with in the long dry stretches between creeks’ (Cleland 1919, p. 283). His comment on the next most numerous species, Apostlebirds, was ‘were among the most numerous and universally distributed of the species met with’ (Cleland 1919, p. 282), and he sighted groups on 42 separate occasions. He (Cleland 1919, p. 280) found groups of Grey-crowned Babblers ‘uniformly distributed throughout the journey’ and recorded them on 25 occasions. White-winged Choughs, the sixth most numerous species, were more restricted in range and ‘distributed mostly in the centre of the scrub’ (Cleland 1919, p. 282). Masked Artamus personatus and White-browed Woodswallows A. superciliosus, two of the ten most numerous species recorded by JBC, are nomadic and irruptive, suddenly coming and going according to availability of 126 Australian Field Ornithology E.D. Cleland

Table 4. Ten most numerous bird species recorded in the Pilliga Forests, NSW, by JBC in 1918, by count, after excluding species specifically seen only in urban or farm areas. RA = Relative Abundance (%), sightings = number of groups sighted. * = JBC counted Noisy Miners with Yellow-throated Miners. See Appendix 1 for details on woodswallow counts.

Species Count RA (%) Sightings

Miner spp.* 280 19.2 Apostlebird 194 13.3 42 Masked Woodswallow 145 9.9 Grey-crowned Babbler 97 6.6 25 White-browed Woodswallow 73 5.0 White-winged Chough 62 4.2 13 Willie Wagtail 50 3.4 White-plumed Honeyeater 46 3.2 Australian Ringneck 38 2.6 Magpie-lark 38 2.6

10 most numerous species 1023 70.1 Total count (all bird species) 1459 food. JBC counted 218 individual woodswallows, 14.9% of his total count, mostly at one location. In October 2004, EDC & PS recorded 404 individuals from 64 species of birds. The ten most numerous species accounted for 49.3% of the total counted. Rufous Whistlers were the most numerous species in October 2004 and were found at 13 sites, Grey Shrike-thrushes at 9 sites, and Weebills and Yellow Thornbills at 8 sites each. All of these species were common and widespread. Noisy Miners represented 3.5% of the October 2004 count and were found at only two sites; they were uncommon and restricted to edge situations. EDC & PS sighted only two groups of Apostlebirds. Three groups of Grey-crowned Babblers were recorded, at two sites. Two groups of White-winged Choughs were sighted, at two sites. Interestingly, the most frequently found species—Weebill, Yellow Thornbill, Rufous Whistler and Grey Shrike-thrush—were recorded at the most sites but not at the site where Noisy Miners were the most abundant.

Evenness In the 1918 surveys, the ten most frequently recorded species dominated other species and constituted 70.1% of the total count. In 2004, the 10 most recorded species are more balanced (i.e. differences in their RAs are smaller) and represent about half (49.3%) of all birds counted. Birds of Pilliga Forests, NSW: 1918 and 2004 127

Of the ten most numerous species of the 1918 and October 2004 surveys, three species (White-plumed Honeyeater, Grey-crowned Babbler and White- winged Chough) were common in both time periods. Despite this, there was also considerable variation in reporting rates amongst these common species. For example, the Grey-crowned Babbler, numerous by number of individuals, was sighted in three groups at two sites in October 2004, which compares with much more frequent sightings on 25 occasions in 1918. The Willie Wagtail Rhipidura leucophrys and Magpie-lark Grallina cyanoleuca were common in 1918 but less so in October 2004, whereas the White-winged Fairy-wren Malurus leucopterus, Weebill, Yellow Thornbill, Rufous Whistler and Grey Shrike-thrush were absent or uncommon in 1918 and were much more common in October 2004. JBC recorded 23 bird species in the Pilliga State Forests that EDC & PS did not record in 2004. Conversely, 27 species observed in the October 2004 survey were not recorded by JBC in 1918. The total list for all seasonal surveys conducted by EDC & PS between October 2004 and October 2006 included 41 species not recorded by either JBC or by EDC & PS in the October 2004 survey.

Discussion

Comparison of bird survey methods of 1918 and 2004 JBC conducted traverses unconstrained by time or distance, an innovation by JBC in his day and well established and scientifically accepted today. EDC & PS conducted traverses constrained by area and time. Other aspects of the surveys were similar so that the surveys should have had a similar discovery rate of species. Watson (2004) has shown that both methods may detect about one-third of the species in a bird community in the first surveys conducted. The October 2004 surveys detected 54.7% of the bird species in the population found in October 2004–October 2006. JBC with his method should have had a similar detection percentage of the population of his day. Comparison of the ranking of the most abundant species in October 2004 with that of October 2004–October 2006 demonstrates that the abundance of birds in October 2004 was broadly similar to the abundance of the seasonally repeated series. It is likely, therefore, that the two bird species lists, of JBC and EDC & PS, represent reasonable snapshots of the avian community in October 1918 and in October 2004, respectively.

Changes in the bird community Many of the birds unique to just one of the lists are migratory or nomadic, and their presence or absence may be a seasonal effect rather than an indicator of permanent change in the bird community. However, differences of the relative abundance and the commonality of some of the resident species recorded during the two survey periods suggest that there may have been change over time, though this conclusion must be tempered by the fact that JBC did not conduct repeated surveys in 1918 to capture seasonal and annual variability. For example, JBC reported seeing one Bush Stone-curlew Burhinus grallarius and hearing 128 Australian Field Ornithology E.D. Cleland several; we neither saw nor heard any, which reflects the current status of this species as threatened in NSW, with now only a few known small and isolated local populations in the NSW sheep–wheat belt (DEC 2006). Many of the bird species recorded less frequently in 2004 than in 1918 (such as Emu Dromaius novaehollandiae, Common Bronzewing Phaps chalcoptera, Peaceful Dove Geopelia striata, Galah Eolophus roseicapillus, miners, Willie Wagtail, Australian Raven Corvus coronoides, Magpie-lark and Apostlebird) are birds that spend a significant amount of time on the ground and prefer somewhat open ground conditions (Appendix 1). Many of the species not found in 1918 or more frequently recorded in 2004 than in 1918 prefer more complex lower vegetation strata with ground-litter (e.g. White-winged Fairy-wren, Grey Shrike- thrush) or are attracted by the increased food sources and nesting opportunities in the closer foliage cover (e.g. Weebill, Yellow Thornbill, Rufous Whistler) (e.g. Antos & Bennett 2006; Ford & Thompson 2006; Antos et al. 2008). The combination of the decline of species dependent upon more open vegetation and the increase of those needing more complex vegetation conditions is suggestive of a change in vegetation structure in the Pilliga. The species composition of the 2004 bird community had an evenness in abundance that could be expected in healthy continuous woodland where several species may be common but not dominant, allowing other less common bird species to co-exist (e.g. Reid 1999; Date et al. 2002; Hannah et al. 2007). In contrast, the 1918 bird community was skewed toward dominance by a few species and was fairly typical of bird communities found today in fragmented and degraded woodlands of the Brigalow Belt South bioregion of southern Queensland and northern NSW (e.g. Reid 1999; Freudenberger & Drew 2001).

Changes in the vegetation Before 1788, what is now known as the Pilliga Scrub had been managed, including by the use of fire as a tool, according to Aboriginal tradition and custom(Gammage 2011). Changes to that long-established regime—introduction of domestic stock, change in fire regime and clearing of the mature overstorey—occurred simultaneously with pastoral possession within a few years each side of 1840. The assumptions or predictions made about the changes in the structure of the vegetation of the Pilliga Scrub since pastoral possession are controversial. Some people argue that the vegetation was predominantly an open, grassy tall woodland and forest which became less grassy and shrubbier woodland with the changes of possession and use (Maiden et al. 1920; Rolls 1981; Date et al. 2002). Others argue that at least the forested areas east of Baradine Creek were similar to the condition found today (Mitchell 1991; Norris et al. 1991; Benson & Redpath 1997; but see Gammage 2011 for a criticism of the historical sources of those authors). However, both sides of the debate are agreed that changes have occurred since first pastoral possession. By 1918, the original pastoral holdings in the forest region had been abandoned because of less grassiness, increased shrubs, and abundant tree germination. Well Birds of Pilliga Forests, NSW: 1918 and 2004 129

Figure 4. Creek in the centre of Pilliga Scrub, 1918. Note lack of shrub-layer and clean ground conditions. Photo: J.B. Cleland

Figure 5. Pine forest at Merebene, 1918. Note several large eucalypt emergents above Cypress Pine, with no shrub-layer and clean ground conditions. Photo J.B. Cleland 130 Australian Field Ornithology E.D. Cleland before 1918, commercial forestry was established, and evolved into State Forest. In 1968, the Pilliga Nature Reserve was created in the south, and in 2005 large areas in the north of the Pilliga Scrub were transferred from State Forest to Community Conservation Areas. Prickly Pear became a major infestation in the Pilliga (and elsewhere) during the 50 years from the mid 1880s, but it declined when biological control was applied after 1926 (Tanner 2004). The huge amount of plant litter and nutrient that was returned to the soil following decay of Prickly Pears probably meant that the vegetation would have responded with vigour. The results of the 1918 bird survey are likely to reflect the preceding 80-year period from European settlement during which the pre-settlement vegetation regime was disrupted by all of the factors which have led to widespread degradation elsewhere and have been described by many authors (e.g. Lynch & Saunders 1991; Robinson & Traill 1996; Reid 1999; Date et al. 2000, 2002; Ford et al. 2001; Hannah et al. 2007; Lunt et al. 2007; Ford 2011). The October 2004 list is likely to reflect further vegetation changes since the cessation of pastoral enterprises, the declaration of State Forest and the further 86 years of forestry practice and later the complete withdrawal of domestic livestock. Such further changes have been described by Date et al. (2002), and include fewer open areas; more trees, and denser spacing of those trees; and less fire, leading to greater sub-canopy foliage cover with less complex lower strata in areas managed for forestry (e.g. Box– Ironbark communities), but more fire with more shrub foliage cover in areas less logged (e.g. creek-lines and areas containing poor soil). I suggest that differences between the structure of the 1918 and 2004 bird populations are at least partly a result of those changes since 1918. JBC left six photographs (in possession of the SLSA) taken in the course of his journey. Excepting one of a Prickly Pear infestation, the photographs show little shrub cover (Figures 4–5). Maiden et al. (1920) published photographs of several Pilliga Scrub scenes which also show little shrub cover. This is in contrast with observations during the 2004 surveys, where shrubs and/or a grassy understorey were generally present (Figures 6–7). Such vegetation changes are likely to have contributed to the reduced status of Noisy Miners from dominance in 1918 to a relict population in edge vegetation in 2004, Apostlebirds from 42 group sightings throughout the Pilliga in 1918 to just two group sightings in October 2004, and Grey-crowned Babblers from 25 group sightings throughout the Pilliga in 1918 to just 3 groups, at two sites in 2004. On the other hand, Weebill, Yellow Thornbill, Rufous Whistler, Grey Shrike-thrush and Pied Currawong Strepera graculina are among the species likely to have benefited. In a detailed study of birds, vegetation and disturbance of the Pilliga Scrub, Date et al. (2002) stated that fire exclusion, logging and, in some cases, grazing have simplified the floristic and bird communities, and that some species have declined in the Pilliga and would continue to decline under the disturbance regimes at that time. Date et al. (2002) undertook a desktop review of historical records of birds occurring in the Pilliga and compiled the known (or probable) status and trend of each species including 31 species known to have declined and 17 thought Birds of Pilliga Forests, NSW: 1918 and 2004 131

Figure 6. Rocky Creek at Windup Well, , January 2006. Note coppiced trees, shrub-layer and grassiness. Photo: E.D. Cleland

Figure 7. The Pilliga Scrub, January 2006. Note sparse shrub-layer and grassiness. Photo: E.D. Cleland 132 Australian Field Ornithology E.D. Cleland to have declined, making a total of 48 decliners. In 1991–1993, they surveyed 568 1.2-ha transects once each and listed the observed bird species, and their frequency and habitat preference. They compared their observations for that period with the species that may have been present before pastoralism, and concluded that 10 bird species have declined in the Pilliga and will continue to decline under the then existing disturbance regimes. The structure of the population of bird species observed by Date et al. (2002) in 1991–1993 is similar to the one that EDC & PS observed in 2004–2006 with a similar set of common species, and is well balanced and without dominance of one or several species.

Conclusions I suggest that JBC’s 1918 bird list represents a bird community typical of disturbed, open woodland. Since then, a progressively more complex understorey has developed, and the 2004 list indicates a bird community characteristic of less disturbed, more structurally complex woodland. Our repeat of JBC’s 1918 survey is an attempt to compare modern data with historical data, and our finding is that the bird community has become more balanced over the intervening 86 years; there is less dominance by a few species and more similarity by many species. JBC’s expedition took place roughly halfway between early European settlement and contemporary times, and sampled a bird community that had already experienced nearly 80 years of disturbance, which is likely to have been significantly greater than what has occurred in the management of the Pilliga Scrub since (although see Date et al. 2002 for likely changes to habitat resulting from forestry practices in some vegetation communities). All of our surveys were within State Forests, and our findings are that the bird population has changed from that typical of disturbed woodland and has changed in the less disruptive forestry regime. It is now a stabilised population typical of lower disturbance woodland, e.g. the Bundarra–Bingara woodlands (Oliver et al. 1999). Our finding supports the idea that best practice forestry can be complementary to bird conservation when it replaces more disturbing regimes. Bird and vegetation communities of the Pilliga should be monitored in the future to provide further information on the influence of management regimes on these communities in both State Forest and areas that have more recently been transferred from State Forest to Conservation Reserves.

Acknowledgements Librarians at the Australian Museum, BirdLife Australia, University of Adelaide and Museum of South Australia assisted with the location of material relevant to JBC and his Pilliga journey. Particular thanks are due to Prue McDonald of the State Library of South Australia, whose perseverance led to the discovery of the JBC journal pages and photographs taken during the journey. Peter Sommerlad suffered the privations of camp life and extended hours of survey in never-failing good humour and patience—his assistance has been invaluable. Nicci Thompson, Andrew Ley, Stephen Debus, Hugh Ford, Damon Oliver, Harry Recher, James Fitzsimons and Grant Palmer have commented on drafts of this Birds of Pilliga Forests, NSW: 1918 and 2004 133 paper and provided invaluable advice. Australian Field Ornithology Editors, both past and present, have, with endless patience and much perseverance, encouraged the development of this paper through many drafts. I thank all of them.

References Antos, M.J. & Bennett, A.F. (2006). Foraging ecology of ground feeding woodland birds in temperate woodlands of southern Australia. Emu 106, 29–40. Antos, M.J., Bennett, M.J. & White, J.G. (2008). Where exactly do ground foraging woodland birds forage? Foraging sites and microhabitat selection in temperate woodlands of southern Australia. Emu 108, 201–211. Benson, J.S. & Redpath, P.A. (1997). The nature of pre-European native vegetation in south- eastern Australia: A critique of Ryan, D.G., Ryan, J.R. & Starr, B.J. (1995). The Australian landscape - Observations of explorers and early settlers. Cunninghamia 5, 285–328. BirdLife Australia (2013). BirdLife Australia Working List of Australian Birds v. 1.1. BirdLife Australia, Melbourne. Available online: http://birdlife.org.au/documents/BWL- BirdLife_Australia_Working_List_v1.1.xls (retrieved 8 January 2014). Birds Australia (2002). Atlas of Australian Birds and NRM Bird-monitoring Project. The Starter’s Kit. Birds Australia, Melbourne. Bureau of Meteorology (2014). Monthly rainfall (millimetres) Narrabri West Post Office. Bureau of Meteorology, Canberra. Available online: www.bom.gov.au/climate/data (retrieved 4 January 2014). Cleland, J.B. (1918). Trip through Pilliga Scrub, Oct 1918 (unpublished document). Cleland, J.B. (1919). The birds of the Pilliga Scrub, New South Wales. Emu 18, 272–285. Cleland, J.B. (1922). A method of taking a bird census. Emu 22, 18–22. Date, E.M., Ford, H.A. & Recher, H.F. (2002). Impacts of logging, fire and grazing regimes on bird species assemblages of the Pilliga woodlands of New South Wales. Pacific Conservation Biology 8, 177–195. Date, E.M., Goldney, D.C., Bauer, J.J & Paull, D.C. (2000). The status of threatened vertebrate fauna in New South Wales Cypress Woodlands: Implications for state forest management. In: Craig, J.L., Mitchell, N. & Saunders, D.A. (Eds). Nature Conservation 5. Nature Conservation in Production Environments: Managing the Matrix, pp. 128–145. Surrey Beatty, Sydney. DEC (2006). Recovery Plan for the Bush Stone-curlew Burhinus grallarius. NSW Department of Environment & Conservation, Sydney. Ford, G. & Thompson, N. (2006). Birds on Cotton Farms. A Guide to Common Species and Habitat Management. Cotton Catchment Communities CRC, Narrabri, NSW. Ford, H.A. (2011). The causes of decline of birds of eucalypt woodlands: Advances in our knowledge over the last 10 years. Emu 111, 1–9. Ford, H.A., Barrett, G.W., Saunders, D.A. & Recher, H.F. (2001). Why have birds in the woodlands of southern Australia declined? Biological Conservation 97, 71–88. Freudenberger, D. & Drew, A. (2001). Bird Surveys in Travelling Stock Routes and Reserves on the Northwest Slopes and Plains: Perspectives on the Conservation Value of TSRs. CSIRO Sustainable Ecosystems, Canberra. Gammage, B. (2011). The Biggest Estate on Earth: How Aborigines Made Australia. Allen & Unwin, Sydney. Hannah, D., Woinarski, J.C.Z., Catterall, C.P., McCosker, J.C., Thurgate, N.Y. & Fensham, R.J. (2007). Impacts of clearing, fragmentation and disturbance on the bird fauna of eucalypt savanna woodlands in central Queensland, Australia. Austral Ecology 32, 261–276. Lunt, I.D., Eldridge, D.J., Morgan, J.W. & Will, G.B. (2007). A framework to predict the effects of livestock grazing and grazing exclusion on conservation values in natural ecosystems in Australia. Australian Journal of Botany 55, 401–415. 134 Australian Field Ornithology E.D. Cleland

Lynch, J.F. & Saunders, D.A. (1991). Responses of bird species to habitat fragmentation in the wheatbelt of Western Australia: Interiors, edges and corridors. In: Saunders, D.A. & Hobbs, R.J. (Eds). Nature Conservation 2: The Role of Corridors, pp. 143–158. Surrey Beatty, Sydney. Maiden, J.H., Cleland, J.B. & Burrow, G. (1920). The Botany of the Pilliga Scrub. New South Wales Department of Agriculture Bulletin 14. New South Wales Government Printer, Sydney. Matthews, G.M. (1913). A List of the Birds of Australia. Witherby, London. Mitchell, P.B. (1991). Historical perspectives on some vegetation and soil changes in semi- arid New South Wales, Vegetatio 91, 169–182. Morris, A.K. (1976). Some doubtful records for the Pilliga Scrub. Australian Birds 10 (3), 54–56. Nairn, B. & Serle, G. (1985). Cleland, Sir John Burton (1878–1971). Australian Dictionary of Biography, Volume 8, pp. 23–25. Melbourne University Press, Melbourne. Norris, E.H., Mitchell, P.B. & Hart, D.M. (1991). Vegetation changes in the Pilliga forests: A preliminary evaluation of the evidence. Vegetatio 91, 209–218. Oliver, D.L., Ley, A.J., Ford, H.A. & Williams, B. (1999). Habitat of the Regent Honeyeater Xanthomyza phrygia and the value of the Bundarra-Barraba region for the conservation of avifauna. Pacific Conservation Biology 5, 224–239. RACAC (2000). Preliminary Overview of the Brigalow Belt South Bioregion (Stage 1). NSW Western Regional Assessments. Brigalow Belt South. Department of Urban Affairs & Planning, Sydney. Reid, J.R.W. (1999). Threatened and Declining Birds in the New South Wales Sheep-Wheat Belt: 1. Diagnosis, Characteristics and Management. Report to NSW National Parks & Wildlife Service, Sydney. Robinson, D. & Traill B.J. (1996). Conserving Woodland Birds in the Wheat and Sheep Belts of Southern Australia. RAOU Conservation Statement No. 10, Royal Australasian Ornithologists Union, Melbourne. Rolls, E.C. (1981). A Million Wild Acres: 200 Years of Man and an Australian Forest. Nelson, Melbourne. Tanner, L.R. (2004). Prickly Pear – from a New South Wales Perspective: Chronology of Events. Available online: www.northwestweeds.nsw.gov.au (retrieved 15 January 2005). Watson, D.M. (2004). Comparative evaluation of new approaches to survey birds. Wildlife Research 31, 1–11.

Note: JBC deposited tables of the 15 stages of his Pilliga journey together with those of many other journeys, all with bird lists of each stage, with the Royal Australasian Ornithologists Union (now BirdLife Australia) library in Melbourne (Cleland 1922). Unfortunately, these tables cannot be found today, but if they ever come to light the detail will allow a stage-by-stage comparison of his journey and the 16 EDC & PS sites (Table 1 provides details of the sites surveyed by EDC & PS).

Received 24 February 2012 Birds of Pilliga Forests, NSW: 1918 and 2004 135

Appendix 1. Number and relative abundance of bird species recorded in the Pilliga Forests, NSW, by J.B. Cleland (JBC) in 1918, and by E.D. Cleland & P. Sommerlad (EDC & PS) in October 2004 and seasonally in October 2004–October 2006. Species noted only in urban areas and cleared farmland and apparent misidentifications have been omitted from JBC’s list. RA = Relative Abundance (%). Variance (V) 1918–2004 = difference between the RA of JBC (1918) and RA of EDC & PS (October 2004); code (C): D = decline, I = increase, – = no change, and Z = no comparison. # = JBC commented on abundance without providing a number; the number here is my interpretation of his words.* = JBC counted Noisy Miners with Yellow-throated Miners. + = JBC gave count as ‘218 birds of the two species counted whilst travelling’, which I have transcribed here as 73 White-browed and 145 Masked Woodswallows.

Species JBC (1918) EDC & PS Comparison Oct. 2004– (Oct. 2004) 1918–2004 Oct. 2006 No. RA% No. RA% V C No. RA% Emu 8 0.5 –0.5 D 2 0.1 Dromaius novaehollandiae Brown Quail Z 1 0 Coturnix ypsilophora Australian Wood Duck Z 2 0.1 Chenonetta jubata Pacific Black Duck 2 0.5 0.5 I 5 0.2 Anas superciliosa Spotted Dove Z 1 0 Streptopelia chinensis Common Bronzewing 33 2.3 1 0.2 –2.1 D 14 0.5 Phaps chalcoptera Crested Pigeon 1 0.1 4 1.0 0.9 I 15 0.5 Ocyphaps lophotes Diamond Dove Z 9 0.3 Geopelia cuneata Peaceful Dove 35 2.4 1 0.2 –2.2 D 21 0.7 Geopelia striata Bar-shouldered Dove# 3 0.2 –0.2 D 1 0 Geopelia humeralis White-throated Needletail Z 1 0 Hirundapus caudacutus Australian Darter 1 0.2 0.2 I 1 0 Anhinga melanogaster White-faced Heron Z 2 0.1 Egretta novaehollandiae Nankeen Night-Heron 1 0.1 –0.1 D Nycticorax caledonicus 136 Australian Field Ornithology E.D. Cleland

Appendix 1 continued

Species 1918 Oct. 2004 1918–2004 Oct. 2004–06 No. RA% No. RA% V C No. RA% Whistling Kite 1 0.1 –0.1 D Haliastur sphenurus Brown Goshawk 1 0.2 0.2 I 1 0 Accipter fasciatus Wedge-tailed Eagle 3 0.2 –0.2 D 2 0.1 Aquila audax Nankeen Kestrel 1 0.2 0.2 I 1 0 Falco cenchroides Brown Falcon Z 2 0.1 Falco berigora Bush Stone-curlew# 3 0.2 –0.2 D Burhinus grallarius Black-fronted Dotterel 2 0.1 –0.1 D Elseyornis melanops Masked Lapwing Z 2 0.1 Vanellus miles Latham’s Snipe Z 1 0 Gallinago hardwickii Painted Button-quail Z 5 0.2 Turnix varius Galah 34 2.3 –2.3 D 36 1.2 Eolophus roseicapillus Sulphur-crested Cockatoo 2 0.5 0.5 I 6 0.2 Cacatua galerita Cockatiel 7 1.7 1.7 I 7 0.2 Nymphicus hollandicus Rainbow Lorikeet Z 1 0 Trichoglossus haematodus Little Lorikeet 2 0.1 –0.1 D 1 0 Glossopsitta pusilla Australian King-Parrot Z 2 0.1 Alisterus scapularis Red-winged Parrot 10 0.7 –0.7 D 4 0.1 Aprosmictus erythropterus Superb Parrot Z 18 0.6 Polytelis swainsonii Birds of Pilliga Forests, NSW: 1918 and 2004 137

Appendix 1 continued

Species 1918 Oct. 2004 1918–2004 Oct. 2004–06 No. RA% No. RA% V C No. RA% Eastern Rosella 13 0.9 1 0.2 –0.7 D 22 0.7 Platycercus eximius Pale-headed Rosella 2 0.5 0.5 I 3 0.1 Platycercus adscitus Australian Ringneck 38 2.6 12 3.0 0.4 I 46 1.5 Barnardius zonarius Red-rumped Parrot 2 0.5 0.5 I 4 0.1 Psephotus haematonotus Turquoise Parrot Z 1 0 Neophema pulchella Channel-billed Cuckoo# 4 0.3 –0.3 D Scythrops novaehollandiae Shining Bronze-Cuckoo 1 0.1 2 0.5 0.4 I 2 0.1 Chalcites lucidus Fan-tailed Cuckoo Z 2 0.1 Cacomantis flabelliformis Southern Boobook Z 1 0 Ninox novaeseelandiae Laughing Kookaburra 7 0.5 –0.5 D 16 0.5 Dacelo novaeguineae Sacred Kingfisher 2 0.5 0.5 I 5 0.2 Todiramphus sanctus Rainbow Bee-eater 12 0.8 7 1.7 0.9 I 11 0.4 Merops ornatus Dollarbird 1 0.1 1 0.2 0.1 I 3 0.1 Eurystomus orientalis White-throated Treecreeper 3 0.7 0.7 I 91 3.0 Cormobates leucophaea White-browed Treecreeper Z 4 0.1 Climacteris affinis Brown Treecreeper 14 1.0 3 0.7 –0.3 D 7 0.2 Climacteris picumnus Spotted Bowerbird Z 3 0.1 Ptilonorhynchus maculatus Superb Fairy-wren 1 0.1 5 1.2 1.1 I 50 1.7 Malurus cyaneus 138 Australian Field Ornithology E.D. Cleland

Appendix 1 continued

Species 1918 Oct. 2004 1918–2004 Oct. 2004–06 No. RA% No. RA% V C No. RA% White-winged Fairy-wren 10 2.5 2.5 I 20 0.7 Malurus leucopterus Variegated Fairy-wren Z 20 0.7 Malurus lamberti White-browed Scrubwren Z 1 0 Sericornis frontalis Speckled Warbler 1 0.2 0.2 I 15 0.5 Chthonicola sagittata Weebill 15 1.0 21 5.2 4.2 I 93 3.1 Smicrornis brevirostris Western Gerygone 1 0.2 0.2 I 2 0.1 Gerygone fusca White-throated Gerygone 5 1.2 1.2 I 6 0.2 Gerygone olivacea Striated Thornbill Z 3 0.1 Acanthiza lineata Yellow Thornbill 6 0.4 16 4.0 3.6 I 175 5.9 Acanthiza nana Yellow-rumped Thornbill Z 11 0.4 Acanthiza chrysorrhoa Chestnut-rumped Thornbill Z 5 0.2 Acanthiza uropygialis Buff-rumped Thornbill 13 0.9 7 1.7 0.8 I 22 0.7 Acanthiza reguloides Inland Thornbill 6 0.4 6 1.5 1.1 I 51 1.7 Acanthiza apicalis Brown Thornbill# 3 0.2 –0.2 D Acanthiza pusilla Southern Whiteface 4 0.3 –0.3 D Aphelocephala leucopsis Pardalote spp.# 3 0.2 –0.2 D Pardalotus spp. Spotted Pardalote 4 1.0 1.0 I 31 1.0 Pardalotus punctatus

Striated Pardalote 1 0.2 0.2 I 12 0.4 Pardalotus striatus Birds of Pilliga Forests, NSW: 1918 and 2004 139

Appendix 1 continued

Species 1918 Oct. 2004 1918–2004 Oct. 2004–06 No. RA% No. RA% V C No. RA% Yellow-faced Honeyeater 11 2.7 2.7 I 69 2.3 Lichenostomus chrysops White-eared Honeyeater Z 129 4.3 Lichenostomus leucotis Yellow-tufted Honeyeater Z 5 0.2 Lichenostomus melanops Fuscous Honeyeater Z 3 0.1 Lichenostomus fuscus White-plumed Honeyeater 46 3.2 21 5.2 2.0 I 135 4.5 Lichenostomus penicilllatus Noisy Miner* 14 3.5 3.5 I 181 6.1 Manorina melanocephala Yellow-throated Miner* 280 19.2 1 0.2 –19.0 D 4 0.1 Manorina flavigula Spiny-cheeked Honeyeater 3 0.2 7 1.7 1.5 I 72 2.4 Acanthagenys rufogularis Brown Honeyeater Z 27 0.9 Lichmera indistincta Black-chinned Honeyeater Z 1 0 Melithreptus gularis Brown-headed Honeyeater 7 0.5 1 0.2 –0.3 D 28 0.9 Melithreptus brevirostris White-naped Honeyeater Z 1 0 Melithreptus lunatus Blue-faced Honeyeater# 6 0.4 –0.4 D 9 0.3 Entomyzon cyanotis Noisy Friarbird 28 1.9 10 2.5 0.6 I 109 3.7 Philemon corniculatus Little Friarbird Z 1 0 Philemon citreogularis Striped Honeyeater 6 1.5 1.5 I 44 1.5 Plectorhyncha lanceolata Grey-crowned Babbler 97 6.6 21 5.2 –1.4 D 119 4.0 Pomatostomus temporalis White-browed Babbler 7 1.7 1.7 I 56 1.9 Pomatostomus superciliosus 140 Australian Field Ornithology E.D. Cleland

Appendix 1 continued

Species 1918 Oct. 2004 1918–2004 Oct. 2004–06 No. RA% No. RA% V C No. RA% Spotted Quail-thrush 2 0.5 0.5 I 3 0.1 Cinclosoma punctatum Varied Sittella Z 17 0.6 Daphoenositta chrysoptera Black-faced Cuckoo-shrike 5 1.2 1.2 I 7 0.2 Coracina novaehollandiae White-bellied Cuckoo-shrike 2 0.1 –0.1 D 2 0.1 Coracina papuensis White-winged Triller 3 0.2 7 1.7 1.5 I 13 0.4 Lalage tricolor Crested Shrike-tit Z 2 0.1 Falcunculus frontatus Golden Whistler Z 1 0 Pachycephala pectoralis Rufous Whistler 11 0.8 43 10.6 9.8 I 190 6.4 Pachycephala rufiventris Grey Shrike-thrush 16 1.1 19 4.7 3.6 I 124 4.2 Colluricincla harmonica Olive-backed Oriole Z 1 0 Oriolus sagittatus Masked Woodswallow+ 145 9.9 –9.9 D Artamus personatus White-browed Woodswallow+ 73 5.0 –5 D 32 1.1 Artamus superciliosus Black-faced Woodswallow Z 9 0.3 Artamus cinereus Dusky Woodswallow 19 1.3 2 0.5 –0.8 D 2 0.1 Artamus cyanopterus Grey Butcherbird 2 0.1 7 1.7 1.6 I 73 2.4 Cracticus torquatus Pied Butcherbird 3 0.2 1 0.2 0 – 6 0.2 Cracticus nigrogularis Australian Magpie 24 1.6 4 1.0 –0.6 D 12 0.4 Cracticus tibicen Pied Currawong 11 2.7 2.7 I 51 1.7 Strepera graculina Birds of Pilliga Forests, NSW: 1918 and 2004 141

Appendix 1 continued

Species 1918 Oct. 2004 1918–2004 Oct. 2004–06 No. RA% No. RA% V C No. RA% Grey Fantail 2 0.1 3 0.7 0.6 I 40 1.3 Rhipidura fuliginosa Willie Wagtail 50 3.4 8 2.0 –1.4 D 44 1.5 Rhipidura leucophrys Corvid spp. Z 9 0.3 Corvus sp. Australian Raven 33 2.3 3 0.7 –1.6 D 16 0.5 Corvus coronoides Leaden Flycatcher 1 0.2 0.2 I 6 0.2 Myiagra rubecula Restless Flycatcher 4 0.3 6 1.5 1.2 I 11 0.4 Myiagra inquieta Magpie-lark 38 2.6 2 0.5 –2.1 D 19 0.6 Grallina cyanoleuca White-winged Chough 62 4.2 20 5.0 0.8 I 80 2.7 Corcorax melanorhamphos Apostlebird 194 13.3 12 3.0 –10.3 D 48 1.6 Struthidea cinerea Jacky Winter 16 1.1 2 0.5 –0.6 D 19 0.6 Microeca fascinans Scarlet Robin 5 0.3 –0.3 D 1 0 Petroica multicolor Red-capped Robin 7 0.5 2 0.5 0 – 15 0.5 Petroica goodenovii Hooded Robin 1 0.1 –0.1 D Melanodryas cucullata Eastern Yellow Robin 1 0.1 6 1.5 1.4 I 111 3.7 Eopsaltria australis Australian Reed-Warbler Z 3 0.1 Acrocephalus australis Rufous Songlark 2 0.1 –0.1 D Cincloramphus mathewsi Silvereye Z 6 0.2 Zosterops lateralis White-backed Swallow 2 0.1 –0.1 D 4 0.1 Cheramoeca leucosterna 142 Australian Field Ornithology E.D. Cleland

Appendix 1 continued

Species 1918 Oct. 2004 1918–2004 Oct. 2004–06 No. RA% No. RA% V C No. RA% Fairy Martin Z 1 0 Petrochelidon ariel Tree Martin Z 12 0.4 Petrochelidon nigricans Mistletoebird 4 1.0 1.0 I 9 0.3 Dicaeum hirundinaceum Double-barred Finch 1 0.2 0.2 I 83 2.8 Taeniopygia bichenovii Red-browed Finch 2 0.5 0.5 I 8 0.3 Neochmia temporalis Diamond Firetail Z 1 0 Stagonopleura guttata

Total species identified 60 64 117

Total individuals 1459 99.9 404 99.1 2986 99.6 counted

Standard deviation 48.03 3.29 7.30 1.82 40.46 1.36