An endangered bird has been rediscovered in north-west Victorian wilderness 40 years after it was presumed extinct in the state.
La Trobe University researchers and community volunteers found a white-bellied whipbird in the Mallee's Big Desert Wilderness Park near Nhill.
Lead researcher Simon Verdon said the team realised they had rediscovered the elusive animal when a volunteer returned to camp near the end of an 81-day field rare bird species survey.
Disability support worker Lachy Wild, 24, from Bendigo recorded the bird during his two-week stint in the Parks Victoria-managed desert scrub.
The white-bellied whipbird is mostly dark olive-brown, other than its white throat and belly.
It exists mainly in low foliage and on the ground.
Dr Verdon said the bird's cartwheeling cry was unmistakeable.
Operating on the 'basis of hope'
Dr Verdon said he had not believed the bird was still in Victoria.
"But we still searched for it because I was open to being wrong about that, and really happy to be proven wrong," he said.
"The birds have probably gone through a lot of tough times and they're still there, which indicates some level of resilience to things like droughts and large wildfires.
"The richness of nature around you is part of who you are, so conserving them [birds] is incredibly important."
