Astrebla Downs is a national park in the Channel Country

Channel Country

The Channel Country is region of outback Australia located mostly in the state of Queensland but also in portions of South Australia, Northern Territory and New South Wales. The name comes from the numerous intertwined rivulets that cross the region, which cover 150,000 km²...

 of outback

Outback

The Outback is the vast, remote, arid area of Australia, term colloquially can refer to any lands outside the main urban areas. The term "the outback" is generally used to refer to locations that are comparatively more remote than those areas named "the bush".-Overview:The outback is home to a...

 Queensland

Queensland

Queensland is a state of Australia, occupying the north-eastern section of the mainland continent. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Australia and New South Wales to the west, south-west and south respectively. To the east, Queensland is bordered by the Coral Sea and Pacific Ocean...

, Australia

Australia

Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

, 1298 km west of Brisbane

Brisbane

Brisbane is the capital and most populous city in the Australian state of Queensland and the third most populous city in Australia. Brisbane's metropolitan area has a population of over 2 million, and the South East Queensland urban conurbation, centred around Brisbane, encompasses a population of...

. The landscape is flat and barren with few trees.

The park received an award in March 2007 by the WWF for being among the top 10 reserves of the decade. Recognition was given for the successful efforts to protect the bilby

Bilby

Bilbies are desert-dwelling marsupial omnivores; they are members of the order Peramelemorphia. Before European colonisation of Australia, there were two species. One became extinct in the 1950s; the other survives but remains endangered....

, an endangered mammal native to Australia. By 2008 it was estimated the park contained a bilby population of around 300. In 2009, a plague of Long-haired Rat

Long-Haired Rat

Rattus villosissimus, the Australian Long-haired Rat, is a species of rodent in the family Muridae. It is endemic to Australia, where its core range is "the Barkly lake system of the Barkly Tableland of the Northern Territory and the Channel Country in Southwest Queensland and north-eastern South...

s descended on the park. The large numbers of rats attract feral cats to the area which pose a threat to the bilby.

Astrebla Downs is also home to the Stripe-faced Dunnart

Stripe-faced Dunnart

The Striped-faced Dunnart is an Australian marsupial. This dunnart has an average length of 155-198 mm from the tip of the snout to the tip of the tail, snout to anus distance of 75-98 mm, a tail measuring 80-100 mm and an ear length of 17-18 mm. Its weight varies between 15-25 grams. It has a...

.

Birds

With Diamantina National Park

Diamantina National Park

Diamantina National Park is a national park in the Channel Country of south west Queensland, Australia, 1278 km west of Brisbane. Like the Diamantina River that flows through it, it is named for Lady Diamantina Bowen, wife of Sir George Ferguson Bowen, the first Governor of Queensland.Established...

, Astrebla Downs National Park forms part of the 7627 km² Diamantina and Astrebla Grasslands Important Bird Area

Important Bird Area

An Important Bird Area is an area recognized as being globally important habitat for the conservation of bird populations. Currently there are about 10,000 IBAs worldwide. The program was developed and sites are identified by BirdLife International...

, identified by BirdLife International

BirdLife International

BirdLife International is a global Partnership of conservation organisations that strives to conserve birds, their habitats and global biodiversity, working with people towards sustainability in the use of natural resources...

 as such because it is one of few sites known for the critically endangered

Critically endangered

Version 2010.3 of the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species identified 3744 Critically Endangered species, subspecies and varieties, stocks and subpopulations.Critically Endangered by kingdom:*1993 Animalia*2 Fungi*1745 Plantae*4 Protista-References:...

 Night Parrot

Night Parrot

The Night Parrot is a small broad-tailed parrot endemic to the continent of Australia. The species was originally placed within its own genus , but most authors now prefer to place it within the genus Pezoporus together with the two ground parrots.No known sightings of the bird were made between...

. It also supports globally important populations of the Plains-wanderer, Australian Bustard

Australian Bustard

The Australian Bustard, Ardeotis australis, is a large ground bird of grassland, woodland and open agricultural country across northern Australia and southern New Guinea. It is also commonly referred to in Central Australia as the Bush Turkey, particularly by Aboriginal people.The male is up to ...

, Straw-necked Ibis

Straw-necked Ibis

The Straw-necked Ibis is a bird of the ibis and spoonbill family Threskiornithidae. It can be found throughout Australia, New Guinea, and parts of Indonesia. Adults have distinctive straw-like feathers on their neck....

, White-necked Heron

White-necked Heron

The White-necked Heron, Ardea pacifica also known as the Pacific Heron is found throughout New Guinea and Australia, except for the most arid regions, and is a vagrant to New Zealand....

, Inland Dotterel

Inland Dotterel

The Inland Dotterel also known as the Australian Dotterel and sometimes placed in the monotypic genus Peltohyas, is a medium-sized Charadriine plover.-Description:...

, Bourke's Parrot

Bourke's Parrot

The Bourke's Parrot , also known as the Bourke's Parakeet or "Bourkie", is a small parrot originating in Australia and the only species in its genus Neopsephotus...

, Black

Black Honeyeater

The Black Honeyeater is a species of bird in the family of honeyeaters, Meliphagidae, and the sole species in the genus Sugomel. The Black Honeyeater exhibits sexual dimorphism with the male being black and white while the female is a speckled grey-brown; immature birds look like the female...

 and Pied Honeyeater

Pied Honeyeater

The Pied Honeyeater is a species of bird in the Meliphagidae family.It is endemic to Australia.-References:* BirdLife International 2004. . Downloaded on 25 July 2007....

s, Gibberbird

Gibberbird

The Gibberbird is a species of bird endemic to Australia. It is the only species in the genus Ashbyia. It, along with the four chats in the genus Epthianura, have sometimes been placed in a separate family, Epthianuridae , but are now thought to be aberrant honeyeaters in the family...

, Hall's Babbler

Hall's Babbler

Hall's Babbler is a species of bird in the Pomatostomidae family. It is endemic to Australia and was first described in 1964.-Name:...

, Chestnut-breasted Quail-thrush

Chestnut-breasted Quail-thrush

The Chestnut-breasted Quail-thrush is a species of bird in the Cinclosomatidae family.It is endemic to Australia.-References:* BirdLife International 2004. . Downloaded on 25 July 2007....

, Cinnamon Quail-thrush

Cinnamon Quail-thrush

The Cinnamon Quail-thrush is a species of bird in the Cinclosomatidae family.It is endemic to Australia.-References:* BirdLife International 2004. . Downloaded on 25 July 2007....

 and Spinifexbird.