Arnhem Plateau

The Arnhem Plateau is an Australian bioregion located in the Northern Territory of Australia, comprising an area of 2,306,023 hectares (5,698,310 acres) of the raised and heavily dissected sandstone plateau that characterises central Arnhem Land in the Top End of the Northern Territory.

Arnhem Plateau Northern Territory
The area is an important site for banded fruit doves
The interim Australian bioregions, with the Arnhem Plateau in red
Area	23,060 km2 (8,903.5 sq mi)
Localities around Arnhem Plateau: Darwin Coastal Arnhem Coast Arnhem Coast Pine Creek Arnhem Plateau Central Arnhem Daly Basin Sturt Plateau Gulf Fall and Upland

Description

The boundary of the 22,000-square-kilometre (8,500 sq mi) Important Bird Area (IBA) is largely defined by the extent of vegetation suitable for white-throated grasswrens. The most important habitat for grasswrens is bare rock and spinifex grassland. Other vegetation includes open monsoonal savanna woodland and patches of rainforest, especially that dominated by the endemic tree Allosyncarpia ternata. About a quarter of the IBA is within Kakadu National Park; a southern outlier is in Nitmiluk National Park, with much of the remainder due to be incorporated in the Wardekken Indigenous Protected Area.

Birds

Identified as an important bird area by BirdLife International, the plateau supports the entire population of white-throated grasswrens, and most of the populations of white-lined honeyeaters, chestnut-quilled rock-pigeons and the local subspecies of black-banded fruit doves and helmeted friarbirds. It also supports populations of bush stone-curlews, varied lorikeets, northern rosellas, rainbow pittas, white-gaped, yellow-tinted, bar-breasted and banded honeyeaters, silver-crowned friarbirds, masked and long-tailed finches, and sandstone shrike-thrushes.

See also

• Birds of Australia
• Geography of Australia