Fauna of Australia in Australia, feeding on sea grass in coastal areas. The destruction of sea grass beds is a threat to the survival of this species. Eleven species of seal—family Pinnipedia—live off the southern coast. Australia and its territories are home to around 800 species of bird; 45% of these are endemic to Australia. The fossil record of birds in Australia is patchy; however, there are records of the ancestors of contemporary species as early as the Late Oligocene. Birds with a Gondwanan history include the flightless ratites (the emu and southern cassowary), megapodes (the malleefowl and Australian brush-turkey), and a huge
Rufous-crowned emu-wren Rufous-crowned emu-wren The rufous-crowned emu-wren ("Stipiturus ruficeps") is a species of bird in the Australasian wren family, Maluridae. It is endemic to Australia. The rufous-crowned emu-wren is one of three species of the genus "Stipiturus", commonly known as emu-wrens, found across southern and central Australia. It was first described in 1899 by Archibald James Campbell, more than a century after its relative the southern emu-wren. Its species name is derived from the Latin words "rufus" "red" and "caput" "head". No subspecies are recognised, although birds from Western Australia may have redder plumage, and females more blue on the face and