SYDNEY, Feb. 1 (Xinhua) -- The Australian State Government of Queensland announced on Thursday that one million hectares of land will be declared a nature refuge in order to protect one of the world's most mysterious birds.
Indigenous to Australia, the green and gold feathered night parrot is considered one of the world's most elusive species.
In fact, between 1912 and 1979 there were no confirmed sightings of the bird which lead many scientists to believe the night parrot had gone extinct.
It was not until 2013, when the first video recording of the creature was ever captured.
But Queensland Environment Minister Leeanne Enoch said the new Mount Windsor Nature Refuge, located in the Central West of the State between the Mayne River, the Pullen Pullen Reserve and the Diamantina and Goneaway National Parks, will help secure the timid animal's future.
"Despite the arid environment, the nature refuge provides habitat for many endangered and vulnerable species," she said.
"It extends about 100 km from east to west and north to south, making it a significant natural corridor for species to migrate."
"It's also home to the greater bilby, kowari, purple-necked rock-wallaby, dunnarts, hopping mice, and a large variety of reptiles."
Rich in biodiversity, the vast herb fields and grasslands also include claypans and ironstone plains that occasionally flood and form small shallow wetlands.
"Tablelands and plateaus with hard cap rock are features of the landscape, and spinifex grasslands offer protection for a range of wildlife species," Enoch said.
