By Burak Bir
ANKARA (AA) - Five different species of birds -- one critically endangered -- in Australia were negatively affected by unprecedented bushfires that raged across the country last summer, a wildlife protection group said Friday.
The bushfires that erupted last August are estimated to have killed 1.25 billion animals and burnt 1 billion trees across the country.
Although bushfires are common in Australia, the 2019 blazes broke out in the south, instead of the usual north, gutting over 21 million acres.
Environmental conservation group BirdLife International listed five bird species negatively impacted by the fires: The critically endangered regent honeyeater, superb lyrebird, eastern bristlebird, glossy black-cockatoo and southern emu-wren.
The NGO also stressed the need for efforts to bring the birds "back from the brink" by securing critical breeding habitats and planning captive breeding programs.
Established in 1922, the UK-based BirdLife International is a global partnership of conservation organizations that strives to conserve birds, their habitats and global biodiversity, working with people towards sustainability in the use of natural resources.