The Rushworth Box-Ironbark Region is a 510 km² fragmented and irregularly shaped tract of land that encompasses all the box–ironbark forest and

woodland A woodland () is, in the broad sense, land covered with woody plants (trees and shrubs), or in a narrow sense, synonymous with wood (or in the U.S., the '' plurale tantum'' woods), a low-density forest forming open habitats with plenty of sunli ...

remnants used as winter feeding habitat by

endangered An endangered species is a species that is very likely to become extinct in the near future, either worldwide or in a particular political jurisdiction. Endangered species may be at risk due to factors such as habitat loss, poaching, inv ...

swift parrot The swift parrot (''Lathamus discolor''), also known by the palawa kani name swift waylitja, is a species of broad-tailed parrot, found only in southeastern Australia. The species breeds in Tasmania during the summer and migrates north to south ...

s in the Rushworth- Heathcote region of central

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Queen Victoria (1819–1901), Queen of the United Kingdom and Empress of India * Victoria (state), a state of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, a provincial capital * Victoria, Seychelles, the capi ...

, south-eastern

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

. It lies north of, and partly adjacent to, the

Puckapunyal Puckapunyal (more formally the Puckapunyal Military Area, but also known as the Puckapunyal Camp or Puckapunyal Army Base, and colloquially as "Pucka") is an Australian Army training facility and base 10 km west of Seymour, Victoria, Seym ...

Important Bird Area An Important Bird and Biodiversity Area (IBA) is an area identified using an internationally agreed set of criteria as being globally important for the conservation of bird populations. IBA was developed and sites are identified by BirdLife Int ...

(IBA). The site was identified by

BirdLife International BirdLife International is a global partnership of non-governmental organizations that strives to conserve birds and their habitats. BirdLife International's priorities include preventing extinction of bird species, identifying and safeguarding i ...

as an IBA and includes the

Heathcote-Graytown National Park The Heathcote-Graytown National Park is a national park located in the North Central region of Victoria, Australia. The national park, which includes sections of the Great Dividing Range, adjoins a number of state forests, including the McIvor ...

, several

nature reserve A nature reserve (also known as a wildlife refuge, wildlife sanctuary, biosphere reserve or bioreserve, natural or nature preserve, or nature conservation area) is a protected area of importance for flora, fauna, funga, or features of geologic ...

s and

state forest A state forest or national forest is a forest that is administered or protected by a sovereign state, sovereign or federated state, or territory (country subdivision), territory. Background State forests are forests that are Administration (gov ...

s, with a few small blocks of private land. It excludes other areas of woodland that are less suitable for the parrots.BirdLife International. (2011). Important Bird Areas factsheet: Rushworth Box-Ironbark Region. Downloaded from http://www.birdlife.org on 2011-10-01.

Birds

The region was identified as an IBA because, when the flowering conditions are suitable it supports up to about 70 non-breeding

s. It is also home to small populations of

diamond firetail The diamond firetail (''Stagonopleura guttata'') is a species of estrildid finch that is endemic to Australia. It has a patchy distribution and generally occupies drier forests and grassy woodlands west of the Great Dividing Range from South Ea ...

s and non-breeding

flame robin The flame robin (''Petroica phoenicea'') is a small passerine bird native to Australia. It is a moderately common resident of the coolest parts of south-eastern Australia, including Tasmania. Like the other two red-breasted ''Petroica'' robins ...

s. Other woodland birds recorded from the IBA include

brown treecreeper The brown treecreeper (''Climacteris picumnus'') is the largest Australasian treecreeper. The bird, endemic to eastern Australia, has a broad distribution, occupying areas from Cape York, Queensland, throughout New South Wales and Victoria to P ...

speckled warbler The speckled warbler (''Pyrrholaemus sagittatus'') is a species of bird in the family (biology), family Acanthizidae. It is Endemism, endemic to eastern Australia. Its natural habitat is temperate forests. Taxonomy The speckled warbler was first ...

hooded robin The hooded robin (''Melanodryas cucullata'') is a small passerine bird native to Australia. Like many brightly coloured robins of the Petroicidae, it is sexually dimorphic; the male bears a distinctive black-and-white plumage, while the female i ...

grey-crowned babbler The grey-crowned babbler (''Pomatostomus temporalis'') is a species of bird in the family Pomatostomidae. They are found in Australia and New Guinea (Indonesia and Papua New Guinea). Its habitats include Tropical and subtropical dry broadleaf fo ...

crested bellbird The crested bellbird (''Oreoica gutturalis'') is a medium-sized passerine bird in the family Oreoicidae. It is native to drier parts of Australia where its typical habitats are acacia scrublands, eucalypt woodlands, spinifex and saltbush plains ...

s and

Gilbert's whistler Gilbert's whistler (''Pachycephala inornata'') is a Monotypic taxon, monotypic species of bird Endemism, endemic to Australia, scattered in Semi-arid climate, semi-arid zones of southern Australia. Taxonomy The family Pachycephalidae originate ...

s, with

bush stone-curlew The bush stone-curlew or bush thick-knee (''Burhinus grallarius'', obsolete name ''Burhinus magnirostris'') is a large, ground-dwelling bird Endemism, endemic to Australia. Its favoured habitat is open plains and woodlands, where it stalks slowly ...

s, migrant

black honeyeater The black honeyeater (''Sugomel nigrum'') is a species of bird in the honeyeater family (biology), family Meliphagidae. The black honeyeater exhibits sexual dimorphism, with the male being black and white while the female is a speckled grey-brown ...

s and

pink robin The pink robin (''Petroica rodinogaster'') is a small passerine bird native to southeastern Australia. Its natural habitats are cool temperate forests of far southeastern Australia. Like many brightly coloured robins of the family Petroicidae, it ...

s seen occasionally.

References

Important Bird Areas of Victoria (state) Box-ironbark forest {{VictoriaAU-geo-stub