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Muir's Corella (Cacatua pastinator pastinator)

Muir's Corella (Cacatua pastinator pastinator) is a white cockatoo, the south-west subspecies of the western corella, listed for the Wheatbelt, South Coast, Swan, South West and Warren regions of Western Australia. It is known from the Boyup Brook, Lake Muir, Frankland and Rocky Gully area. It is Conservation Dependent under the Biodiversity Conservation Act 2016 (WA), Fauna Order 2025(2) in operation from 1 August 2026, and not listed under the EPBC Act.

Conservation status

Western Australia, Biodiversity Conservation Act 2016: Conservation dependent.

Seasonal planning

The highlighted months are a general guide from the group biology.

Seasonal evidence: General, not site-specific.

Check local advice; timing varies between years.

  • Main activity or breeding period: Plan surveys and avoid disturbance in these months where possible.

Identification: Appearance

Muir's Corella is a white cockatoo, the south-west subspecies of the western corella. Reliable identification needs a specialist.

A species-specific field description is not summarised here. Use the original description and museum specimens for identification.

Identification: Similar species

Related species in the same genus or group can look alike and may occur nearby. Confirm identity with a taxonomist before relying on a record.

Distribution: Known records

Listed for the Wheatbelt, South Coast, Swan, South West and Warren regions. Known from the Boyup Brook, Lake Muir, Frankland and Rocky Gully area.

The Atlas of Living Australia holds 183 records at 42 distinct 0.1-degree locations, between latitude -34.7 and -29.6, longitude 116.1 to 117.2. Coordinates are often generalised for listed species, so treat this as an indicative area, not a boundary.

Distribution: Group pattern

The interim recovery plan records Muir's corella confined to the area from Boyup Brook, McAlinden and Qualeup south to Lake Muir and the lower Perup River, and east to Frankland and Rocky Gully. It fell to about 100 birds in the 1940s and was later estimated at 1,500 to 3,000 birds.

Distribution: WA listing

DBCA lists the species for the Wheatbelt, South Coast, Swan, South West and Warren regions.

Habitat: Habitat

Farmland and forest edges with large live or dead eucalypts, particularly marri and jarrah, as well as flooded gum, yate and paperbark, including lone paddock and roadside trees.

Farmland and forest edges with large live or dead eucalypts, particularly marri and jarrah, as well as flooded gum, yate and paperbark, including lone paddock and roadside trees.

Species-specific habitat preferences have not been published in detail; this is based on the group and the listed locality.

Habitat: Site interpretation

Treat matching habitat in or near the listed locality as potentially occupied until a qualified survey shows otherwise.

Foraging habitat: Diet

Corms, tubers, seeds and insect larvae. Winter diet near Unicup was mostly corms of introduced onion grass (Romulea rosea), with cereal grain eaten through the rest of the year.

Corms, tubers, seeds and insect larvae. Winter diet near Unicup was mostly corms of introduced onion grass (Romulea rosea), with cereal grain eaten through the rest of the year.

Breeding habitat: Breeding

Nests in hollows 6 to 20 m up in mature eucalypts, often lone paddock or roadside trees. Eggs are laid from September to November.

Nests in hollows 6 to 20 m up in mature eucalypts, often lone paddock or roadside trees. Eggs are laid from September to November.

Sheltering habitat: Shelter

Forages and roosts in groups or flocks of hundreds. The nest tree is the focus of activity in the breeding season.

Forages and roosts in groups or flocks of hundreds. The nest tree is the focus of activity in the breeding season.

Threats: Threats

The plan lists illegal shooting and poisoning, habitat loss, land use change including plantations, shortage of and competition for nest hollows, and feral honeybees.

The plan lists illegal shooting and poisoning, habitat loss, land use change including plantations, shortage of and competition for nest hollows, and feral honeybees.

Threats: Works risk

Removal of large hollow-bearing trees, including lone paddock and roadside trees, is the main works risk.

Survey methodology: 1. Desktop review and design

Follow the EPA Western Australia technical guidance and engage specialists with the right licences.

Use the EPA Western Australia guidance on terrestrial vertebrate fauna surveys, including targeted searches and counts at feeding and roost sites.

Survey methodology: 2. Field survey

Map and record large hollow-bearing trees and look for signs of nesting in spring.

Survey methodology: 3. Identification and limits

Record numbers, behaviour and locations for each visit.

Vegetation associations: Melaleuca or paperbark

Source-checked associations and automatically indexed candidates are separated below. An association does not establish site presence, preference or dependence.

Farmland and forest edges with large live or dead eucalypts, particularly marri and jarrah, as well as flooded gum, yate and paperbark, including lone paddock and roadside trees.

Automatically indexed from existing profile text. Not a verified preference, mapped occurrence or habitat requirement. Check the original source and regional qualifiers before use.

Evidence: Unreviewed profile-derived candidate

Confidence: Not independently verified

Region: Scope as described in the quoted profile text; not independently verified. Profile states: WA.

Habitat use: general

Ecosystem associations

Source-checked associations and automatically indexed candidates are separated below. An association does not establish site presence, preference or dependence.

No species-specific ecosystem association has been indexed or source-checked in this evidence library. This is an evidence gap, not evidence of no association.

Soil and substrate associations

Source-checked associations and automatically indexed candidates are separated below. An association does not establish site presence, preference or dependence.

No species-specific soil association has been indexed or source-checked in this evidence library. This is an evidence gap, not evidence of no association.

Water and wetland associations

Source-checked associations and automatically indexed candidates are separated below. An association does not establish site presence, preference or dependence.

No species-specific water association has been indexed or source-checked in this evidence library. This is an evidence gap, not evidence of no association.

Fauna records and mapped habitat: Not yet analysed

Record locations can be overlaid with mapping, but record frequency alone does not measure habitat preference. No species is excluded from desktop assessments by this analysis.

No quality-controlled record-to-map analysis has been completed for this species. The existing generalised distribution dots and indicative range polygons have not been treated as precise occurrence coordinates.

A defensible run needs dated, independently attributable records, coordinate uncertainty, duplicate and captive-record checks, layer versions and regional scope. Preference and absence require additional survey-effort and detection evidence.

Habitat limitations and contrary evidence: No supported exclusion recorded

Not recorded is not the same as cannot occur. Low suitability, resident habitat, breeding habitat and occasional movement are different conclusions.

This library has not established a vegetation, ecosystem or soil-type exclusion for this species. This does not mean all habitat is suitable; the evidence needed to justify an exclusion has not been assembled.

Habitat limitations and contrary evidence: Before using a negative association

  • Confirm the taxon, geographic region, life stage and habitat function covered by the evidence.
  • Check survey methods, season, repeated effort and detectability before interpreting non-detection.
  • Investigate credible contradictory records and microhabitats absent from broad mapping.
  • Do not convert a missing map class, low record count or failed data request into species absence.

Before disturbance: 1. Pre-start review

Confirm whether the project could affect the species before any works begin.

Check the project footprint against the listed locality, DBCA records and any survey results. Map habitat that matches this profile.

Before disturbance: 2. Approvals

Taking or disturbing listed threatened fauna in WA needs authorisation under the Biodiversity Conservation Act 2016. Seek DBCA advice early.

Before disturbance: 3. Crew briefing

Brief crews on the habitat to avoid, the exclusion areas and who to call if the species or its habitat is found.

During disturbance: 1. Protect habitat

Keep works inside the approved footprint.

Removal of large hollow-bearing trees, including lone paddock and roadside trees, is the main works risk. Fence or flag known habitat and keep vehicles, stockpiles and spoil out of it.

During disturbance: 2. Stop and report

If the species or suspected habitat is found outside the approved area, stop work at that spot and contact the project ecologist and DBCA.

After disturbance: 1. Record outcomes

Record what was done.

Record any sightings, specimens, habitat lost or retained and any incidents, and submit records to DBCA as required by the authorisation.

Rehabilitation: 1. Restore

Restore disturbed areas where possible.

Return surface materials, logs, rocks and litter, restore drainage and revegetate with local species. Use hygiene controls for dieback in the south-west.

Sources