The bid to save the only bird species that’s native to Victoria and nowhere else

This week, more than two dozen helmeted honeyeater birds will be transferred from one part of the state to another in a bid to save the critically endangered species.

Just one wild colony of the birds, which are one of Victoria’s faunal emblems, remains in Yellingbo.

Founder and director of Moonlit Sanctuary, Michael Johnson, says the helmeted honeyeater is “the only species of bird that’s native to Victoria and nowhere else”.

“Over time we’ve lost colonies from things like the Ash Wednesday bushfires, to development, and just because the colony has got too small and they’ve just died out, which happens naturally.”

Thirty birds will be taken from the Yellingbo colony and transferred to a heavily wooded area near Warburton.

Mr Johnson says ensuring the birds taken are genetically diverse is “very important to try and make sure the population, if they get it established in Warburton, will survive”.

Press PLAY below to hear more about the bid to save the helmeted honeyeater