Conserving finch habitats

The nation’s most controversial coalmine could be thwarted by a small perching songbird known for its distinctive black bib.

The black throated finch.

After almost a decade of delays, the nation’s most controversial coalmine could be thwarted by a small perching songbird known for its distinctive black bib.

The black-throated finch — also known as the chocolate parson, or poephilia cincta cincta — existed in large numbers across southeast Queensland and northern NSW until early last century, when their woody habitats began to be razed to graze livestock.

A major population study in 2000 concluded there were only about 20,000 breeding birds left in the wild, spread across the Townsville region and scattered sites in tropical Queensland.

The finches have been ­described as highly social, are usually found in pairs or small flocks of up to 30 birds, and feast primarily on seeds from native and introduced grasses. They also eat insects and larvae, especially during the wet season when they breed. Adani’s proposed Carmichael coalmine could affect 16,500ha of finch habitat, so the company plans to build one of the state’s largest private conservation areas across more than 33,000ha at nearby Moray Downs West, a pastoral area it owns. It is hoped Adani’s reserve will also protect reptiles, plants and birds threatened by human activity.