Jurassic relic

The eastern bristlebird is one of a suite of threatened species being helped by a NSW program involving government, private landholders and community groups.

Story Bruce McMahon  Photos David Kelly

A shy, ground-dwelling native with links back to ancient Australia, the eastern bristlebird is today critically endangered in north-eastern NSW and rarely seen. Sometimes spotted scuttling across clearings, this small bird with a longish tail hides out in dense grassy forests and nests in tussocks. 

Near Murwillumbah, ecologist David Charley stops and listens on a ridge in the Border Ranges, plays a soft call from his mobile phone and is answered with a melody by a curious male. David turns and points out a little brown bird in the long grasses. Though he has worked on these rare and reclusive animals for 30-odd years, David is still taken by a sighting. "They're highly territorial," he says. "So the male will respond [to a call] and either come up and have a look at you or call back," he says. "They will come really close, so you have to be really still. They might be 2-3m away and they'll just be skulking there.