An endangered Australian cockatoo is at risk of disappearing altogether if urgent action isn't taken to protect it from a changing environment.
Western Australia government researchers say the Carnaby's cockatoo is like to see its habitat shrink even further in coming years with the ongoing onset of hotter and drier weather.
The cockatoo is only found in Western Australia and is one of the state's iconic animals.
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But researchers said in the journal Pacific Conservation Biology there were "few opportunities" left to help. The federal Department of Agriculture estimates the bird's population has already fallen by 50 per cent in the past 45 years.
And they're set to face more trials, with winters in south-western Australia, where the cockatoos live, are predicted to become 16 per cent drier, while spring rainfall will drop by 20 per cent.
Added to that, the number of days hotter than 35 degrees are predicted to increase.
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That temperature is too hot for the birds to forage, curbing their ability to feed.
Carnaby's cockatoo is already classed as endangered by WA, Australia, and internationally.
Its habitat has been greatly reduced since European colonisation, with land given over to farming, mining, and infrastructure.
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The researchers urged the government to focus on revegetation, including repairing old tree hollows the cockatoos used for nesting, as well as providing artificial ones.
"In planning for regeneration, planning must be done with a time-frame of centuries, not decades," the wrote.
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