Get involved in the Plains-wanderer search

The SA Arid Lands Landscape Board has joined with Bush Heritage Australia and Birdlife Australia in a bid to find out more about the Plains-wanderer (Pedionomus torquatus), a small, ground-dwelling bird with less than 2500 known individuals remaining in the wild. There are very few sightings in South Australia and we are asking the community to let us know if they may have seen one so we can better understand its distribution across the state.

Until recently, these birds were thought to occur mostly in Victoria and New South Wales, however, recent research uncovered a significant population in the North East Pastoral district, bringing hope to the species’ future.

The Plains-wanderer is known to live in the grasslands of southeastern Australia. Similar in appearance to a quail, it grows to 20cm and weighs only 95g. They have distinctive brown plumage, with a short tail and long yellow legs. The females have a striking black and white speckled collar and red-buff spot on the upper breast, while the males are smaller and more camouflaged.

If you think you have seen a Plains-wanderer, here is how you can get involved:

1. Take a photo
2. Go to https://bit.ly/3YJAW52and answer the questions, including where you have seen this bird and the type of habitat that was present at the site.
3. Upload your photo (if you have one)

If you think you may have seen one of these birds in the past, we also want to hear about these and ask that you follow the link to provide any information you can.

The information collected will go towards updating the species distribution in South Australia and will enable informed conservation management plans to be developed. These will protect the long-term survival of the species and may lead to future research.

Plains-wanderer: Revisiting the Baseline is funded by the Australian Government’s Saving Native Species Program.