Gippsland Environment Group Inc

Black she-oak seeds are the sole food source of the Glossy-Black Cockatoo

​This large area of forest targeted for burning contains substantial stands of mature Black She-oak, Allocasuarina littoralis — the only food source for Glossy-black Cockatoos in Victoria. Surveys over some years by Gippsland Environment Group have recorded Glossy-black Cockatoos coming back to feed in this site —showing the site is an important feeding area. Large old trees may also provide be providing nesting habitat for Glossies and other hollow-dependent species, such as Yellow-bellied Gliders.

Glossy-black Cockatoos are Vulnerable in Victoria and found only in East Gippsland. They feed almost exclusively and selectively on seeds of Black She-oak trees, which are highly fire-sensitive. Fire will kill the trees outright, but even a low-intensity fire can trigger the cones to shed their seeds — and the birds will not eat from the ground.

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Nearly two-thirds of the Glossy's Victorian habitat burned in the 2019–20 bushfires, leaving the Victorian species almost entirely dependent on these small unburnt coastal forest patches between Lake Tyers and Orbost.

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​A peer-reviewed study published in the journal Australian Field Ornithology estimated that the Victorian population had declined by three-quarters since the fires. Peter Menkhorst, a retired ecologist who worked for Victorian government wildlife agencies for 48 years and a co-author the study, said

"they probably had the most specialised diet of any Australian bird, and that a fire in black sheoak forests could badly damage their food supply. He said any unburnt stands of black sheoak were “of critical importance for the species”.

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A state government report into biodiversity after the fires agreed that surviving black sheoak stands were of “great significance for this highly specialised bird species” and advised “great care” would be needed in managing the forests.​

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In a recent Guardian article BirdLife Australia’s president, Mandy Bamford, said Victoria’s glossy black cockatoo population was “tiny”. Those birds needed sheoaks to feed on and safe places to nest, she said.​ The department’s preferred burn window in autumn posed an additional risk, she said, as it overlapped with the bird’s breeding season. “If there are nestlings in hollows, they can’t get away. Also, potentially you’re reducing food sources at a critical time when they’re feeding chicks.”

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A Freedom of Information request obtained by Gippsland Environment Group in 2025 estimated only around 100 Glossy-black Cockatoos remaining between Colquhoun Forest and the NSW border. Local naturalists believe the number may be even lower, with fewer than 50 birds thought to occur between Lakes Entrance and the Snowy River.

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For a population this small, burning critical feeding habitat is not a minor impact — it is a serious risk to the species’ survival in Victoria.​​​

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Below: Glossy-black Cockatoos feeding on black she-oaks in the burn site.

Bottom right:  Black she-oaks have already been destroyed in FFMV pre-burn roadside works