Document ID: chunk:federal_register_of_legislation:F2016L01082:reg:1:p5
Version: federal_register_of_legislation:F2016L01082
Segment Type: reg
Provision Reference: reg 1 (pt 5/30)
Character Range: 17197–20205

become orange-yellow (Marchant & Higgins, 1993). Juveniles resemble adult males, but they can be distinguished until 14 weeks of age by heavy dark-brown spotting (crescents) on their lower breast and flanks (Crome & Rushton, 1975).

3.2 Distribution
The plains-wanderer is usually seen singly, especially during the non-breeding season, but may also occur in pairs and in small family groups of up to five birds (Baker-Gabb, 1987; Bennett, 1983; Harrington et al., 1988; Marchant & Higgins, 1993). The plains-wanderer occurs at scattered sites in Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria and South Australia (Baker-Gabb, 1990a; Baker-Gabb et al., 1990; Barrett et al., 2003; Bennett, 1983). There have also been unconfirmed records of the species in the Northern Territory (Bennett, 1983; Blakers et al., 1984). The primary 'stronghold' of the species is the Riverina region of south-western New South Wales (Baker-Gabb et al., 1990; Bennett, 1983) with the north-central region of Victoria providing a secondary stronghold. Astrebla Downs National Park and Diamantina Lakes National Park represent areas of high importance for the species in Queensland, with potential plains-wanderer habitat linking these Queensland Channel Country sites to the Riverina region of New South Wales.
The distribution of the plains-wanderer was formerly more widespread; there are historical records from central, south-western and south-eastern Queensland; eastern, central and western New South Wales, mainly in the south; central and western Victoria; and south-eastern and inland South Australia (Bennett, 1983; Blakers et al., 1984; D'Ombrain, 1926; Llewellyn, 1975). The species is now mostly recorded from some smaller areas of critical habitat in south-western Queensland, south-western New South Wales, north-central Victoria, and north-eastern South Australia (Baker-Gabb, 1990a, 2002b; Baker-Gabb et al., 1990; Barrett et al., 2003; Bennett, 1983).
The extent of occurrence for the species is estimated to be 930 000 kmP2 P(Garnett et al., 2011). The extent of occurrence is likely to be stable at present (Garnett et al., 2011), but it has declined markedly since European settlement. Garnett et al. (2011) estimated the area of occupancy to be 330 kmP2P, with a continuing declining trend.

3.3 Population trends
The plains-wanderer was formerly much more common and widespread (Bennett, 1983; Blakers et al., 1984; D'Ombrain, 1926; Llewellyn, 1975), but its distribution and population size have declined markedly due to the loss and degradation of sparse, lowland native grasslands, which are its preferred habitat (Baker-Gabb, 2002b; Baker-Gabb et al., 1990; Bennett, 1983). The loss of habitat is ongoing (NPWS, 2001; Webster, 2000), and recent surveys (Parker & Baker-Gabb, 2013; Radford et al., 2013) have shown that the species is likely to be more scarce now than it was in the 1990s.
Within the Patho Plains of Victoria the plains-wanderer population was estimated to have undergone a reduction in numbers