• Summary
• Text account
• Data table and detailed info
• Distribution map
• Reference and further resources

Justification of Red List category
This species is listed as Endangered as it has a single, very small population which has very rapidly declined and is continuing to decline at a rate exceeding 50% within three generations owing to the destruction of its wetland habitats.

Population justification
Population estimates of Australian Painted-snipe up to 2010 have varied between 1,500 and 5,000 individuals in total (Commonwealth of Australia 2019) and rare and erratic recording suggest that the species occurs in limited numbers (Marchant and Higgins 1993). The population was estimated at 1,000–1,500 mature individuals in 2010 (Garnett et al. 2011). Applying a trend correction based on a determined contraction in the AOO, the population estimate in 2020 was revised to 270-410 mature individuals with a best estimate of 340.

Trend justification

The species is so rarely reported that change in AOO is the best measure of trends in relative abundance. AOO (based on all records combined; BirdLife Australia 2020, eBird 2020) declined by 77% from 1,352 km² in the first half of the last three generations (2008–2014) to 312 km² in the most recent six years. However, like most Australian waterbirds (Clemens et al. 2019), there was an increase in sightings following the wet years of 2010–2011 with some areas having many individuals: 87 individuals were encountered in the 2012–2013 rice-growing season in the Riverina region of New South Wales (Herring and Silcocks 2014). A better comparison is the 60% decline between the AOO for the most recent six years and that for the driest six years of the millennium drought (788 km², 2003–2009). This last decline was used to estimate population size relative to the estimate of 1,000–1,500 mature individuals in 2010 (Garnett et al. 2011) although the actual AOO is assumed to be larger because surveys are certainly incomplete, particularly in northern Australia and in the arid interior. Overall, these trends in occupancy are thought to suggest a decline of  >50–80% in the last three generations which is likely to continue (Rogers et al. 2021). 

Australian Painted-snipe occurs across northern, eastern and south-western Australia with some evidence of partial migration from south-eastern wetlands to coastal central and northern Queensland in autumn and winter (Marchant and Higgins 1993, Black et al. 2010). All sightings south of Queensland since 2015 have been between October and April, but some birds appear to stay in northern Australia all year round (BirdLife Australia 2020, eBird 2020). The scarcity of records in southern Australia in the last five years suggests that the species has rarely bred there in that time, although the arrival of multiple pairs at Roebuck Plains after flooding rains in 2017 reconfirms the species' capacity to travel long distances to use wetlands that are seasonally or episodically inundated. 

Australian Painted-snipe breed in shallow, temporary or infrequently filled freshwater or brackish wetlands following flooding, preferring wetlands with complex shorelines and a patchwork of shallow water, small islands, exposed wet mulch, and low, dense cover (less than knee height). During non-breeding periods they have also been recorded in wetlands where there are trees or shrubs or samphire, and occasionally brackish wetlands, saltmarsh, claypans, sewage farms, dams, bores and irrigation schemes (Marchant and Higgins 1993) where they feed on seeds and invertebrates, including insects, worms, molluscs and crustaceans from the water's edge (Marchant and Higgins 1993). There are several records (including a breeding record) from rice fields (Herring and Silcocks 2014).

The main problem for the species appears to be that suitable ephemeral wetlands are becoming scarce in some bioregions. In their former stronghold in the Murray Darling Basin, many wetlands have been lost, or have lost their temporary water regimes, to irrigated agriculture (Lane and Rogers 2000) and the demands of water storage for domestic supply, and many remaining temporary wetlands have simply not been available for long periods during the last two decades because of extended and hotter droughts. Invasion of wetlands by weeds that make the habitat unsuitable may pose additional threats (Rogers et al. 2005). The boost in sightings during and immediately after the last wet period in 2010–2011 suggests that the species has the potential to recover after a drought, but the recovery did not last long as a second drought soon started and seemed to exacerbate the effect of the first. Drought frequency and severity are expected to increase (Evans et al. 2017). Grazing and associated trampling of wetland vegetation by cattle may also be a threat to the snipe in certain regions, particularly where grazing tends to become concentrated around wetlands in the dry season (Rogers et al. 2005). Predation by feral animals has been suggested as a threat, though there is no evidence that it is a cause of recent declines (C. Jones in litt. 2009).

Conservation Actions Underway
Some wetlands are in protected areas. The species is listed as threatened under appropriate legislation. In 2001 a project was initiated by the Threatened Bird Network and Australasian Wader Studies Group to improve knowledge of the species (Rogers et al. 2005). Recovery actions implemented as part of this study include the development of a database of records and an assessment of habitat preferences (Rogers et al. 2005, C. Jones in litt. 2009). Birds Australia has been conducting annual surveys of the species since 2001 (S. Garnett in litt. 2009). A national recovery team is being established to coordinate priority recovery actions. 

Conservation Actions Proposed
Locate regularly used habitat in northern Australia and determine how and why these wetlands are used. Identify wetlands for management in drier years and drought refuges. Protect and manage principal breeding and wintering sites and, as a precautionary measure, identify and protect any additional habitat used by the species in the last 10 years. Develop guidelines, in consultation with landholders, for the management of suitable wetlands. Initiate control programs for feral animals, and erect fencing to prevent grazing and trampling of wetlands by cattle, at suitable wetlands. Rehabilitate selected wetlands that were formerly used for breeding. Create dedicated shallow wetlands in the Riverina, actively managed to attract the species. Undertake further research to determine movements and improve knowledge of habitat preferences. Develop a more effective monitoring regime. Monitor the population at the landscape scale using, to begin with, the Atlas of Australian Birds, and determine the breeding range. Encourage participation of community groups and other relevant bodies in the recovery effort.  Assess the need for a captive population and establish if required.

Acknowledgements

Text account compilers
Vine, J.

Contributors
Allinson, T, Calvert, R., Garnett, S., Jaensch, R., Jones, C. & Symes, A.

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Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Species factsheet: Australian Painted-snipe Rostratula australis. Downloaded from https://datazone.birdlife.org/species/factsheet/australian-painted-snipe-rostratula-australis on 18/12/2024.
Recommended citation for factsheets for more than one species: BirdLife International (2024) IUCN Red List for birds. Downloaded from https://datazone.birdlife.org/species/search on 18/12/2024.