SYDNEY: Researchers at the Queensland University have shown how large numbers of Australia’s endangered native birdlife have been driven out of their historical habitats since the nation was first colonized nearly 250 years ago. The research, published in the Environmental Research Letters journal and released to the public on Monday, showed that 70 percent of Australia’s land had lost at least one species of endangered bird. Lead author on the joint study and conservation scientist at the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) Australia Michelle Ward said these latest findings should be extremely shocking to conservationists and everyday Australians alike. “Australia is celebrated globally as having some of the most intact ecosystems on the planet, but there’s been a mass local extinction of wild animals across much of the continent.” The research focused on 72 endangered bird species, including the black cockatoo and regent honeyeater. It showed that 530 million hectares of land across Australia had lost at least one of the studied species.