The name bilby actually comes from the Yuwaalaraay people of northern New South Wales. Ther aboriginal names for the bilby are Ninu, from the Pitjantjatjara people; Walparjirri, from the Warlpiri; Ahert from the Arrernte people; Mankarr, from the Manjilyjarra people; and Dal-goitch or Dal-gyte, which was a widespread term.

Bilbies are solitary animals, living alone in their burrows. However, while they live alone in their burrows, they live in colonies which may number several dozen animals.

The habitat of the bilby's has been greatly affected since European settlement of Australia. Bilbies used to cover two thirds of Australia, but now have been pushed back so that they only live in deserts. This is largely because of the spread of farming.

The introduction of the rabbit, which voraciously eats much of the vegetation the bilby eats, has resulted in reduced food sources. Rabbits also dig burrows which cause problems for the bilby's habitat, as they tend to cause the bilbies to be caved in. The bilby's habitat has also suffered from being trampled on by herds of stock animals.

Yes, the bilby is a consumer. An insectivore consumer.

The bilby is a nocturnal marsupial, living in deep spiral burrows during the day, and coming out at night to forage and feed. The average bilby has up to a dozen burrows, some of which are used for shelter, and others which are used as escape burrows if predators threaten the animal. When the bilby forages at night, it often back-fills its burrow to prevent predators from entering during its absence.

A bilby has powerful legs for digging, and it uses its long snout for locating insects and insect larvae to eat. Dozens of small holes up to 25 cm deep and scattered over a large area will be dug while the bilby searches for food.

Darting

Yes. All marsupials are born extremely underdeveloped. They are blind, hairless and utterly helpless.

Bilbies do not have "enemies", as such - they have predators. Natural predators of the bilby include dingoes and quolls, although due to habitat loss, quolls no longer share habitats with the bilby, which has been driven further inland. Carpet pythons and birds of prey also pose a danger.

Feral dogs, foxes and cats are introduced predators - and therefore enemies - of the bilby. Whilst not predators or even enemies, introduced rabbits pose a threat to the bilby. Not only do they eat the bilbies' food, but their burrowing often causes the bilbies' burrows to cave in, trapping and suffocating the bilbies. Similarly, stock animals such as horses and cattle, which are not enemies of the bilby either, cause problems because their hard hooves impact the ground, making it harder for bilbies to dig.

No. Bilbies do not live in the tropical rainforest.

Bilbies live in burrows in hot, dry grasslands and semi-arid spinifex areas. The burrow entrance is often positioned against a termite mound or small shrub, and a single bilby may have up to a dozen burrows that it uses either for shelter during the day, or as a quick escape route from predators.

Amazingly adaptable for their size and the threats to them, bilbies can live in sandstone ridges, gibber plains, rocky soils with little ground cover, a variety of grasslands, and acacia scrub.

The bilby lives in the desert and semi-arid areas of Australia, digging burrows to escape from the heat of the day. It also obtains most of its moisture needs from the food it eats, which consists of insects and their larvae, seeds, bulbs, fruit, fungi and even, on occasion, other small mammals. It is nocturnal, only emerging at night to hunt for food, so this also helps it survive in harsh environments.

Bilbies used to be found over about 70% of the Australian continent, but European settlement has forced them inland to just the dry, arid areas.

Bilbies are now critically endangered, and can only be found in isolated areas of far western Queensland and the Northern Territory, and areas of the Great Sandy Desert, Pilbara and Kimberley areas of Western Australia. In Queensland, they may be seen in a protected area near Charleville, in the west. The weather in these areas is hot and dry during the day, tending to very cold at night in winter time.

Bilbies live in burrows in hot, dry grasslands and semi-arid spinifex areas. The burrow entrance is often positioned against a termite mound or small shrub, and a single bilby may have up to a dozen burrows that it uses either for shelter from the heat during the day, or as a quick escape route from predators.

Amazingly adaptable for their size and the threats to them, bilbies can live in sandstone ridges, gibber plains, rocky soils with little ground cover, a variety of grasslands, and acacia scrub.

3 syllables:

almond tree, aral sea, ardently, argosy, arkadi, artfully, audibly, awesomely, barkocy, barnaby, bodily, botany, bottomley, broccoli, carmany, carmody, carnegie, carpentry, colloquy, colony, comedy, commonly, common pea, conaty, connally, connelly,consciously, constancy, constantly, crotchety, donaghey, donaghy, donahey, donnelley, donnelly, garden pea, gossipy, guarani, harbory, hardesty, harkavy, harmfully, harmlessly, harmonie, harmony, hearth money, heartily, homily, honestly, honesty, knock rummy, larceny, lockaby, lockamy, lomasney, marciante, markedly, marketi, marsh buggy, modestly, modesty,montgomery, nominee, novelty, novotney, oddity, odyssey, oglesby, olive tree, ottilie, partially, partridge pea, pharmacy, policy, polity, possibly, probably, prodigy, progeny, prophecy,prosody, ptolemy, quality, quantity, rocketry, romany, sloppily,smartmoney, smart money, sodomy, solidly, sotheby,sovereignty, swamp buggy, wannabe, wannabee, wantonly,wobbly

4 syllables:

comparably

Bilbies are omnivores and nocturnal feeders. They eat ants, termites, beetles, centipedes and grasshoppers and other insects, larvae, seeds, bulbs, fruit and fungi. Occasionally they may eat small mammals. They use their strong forelegs to dig and search for food, and their long nose to help dig out larvae as well.

There are a number of conservation measures in place to try and help the bilby, an endangered species of Australia. Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service has been studying and monitoring a bilby colony in far west Queensland since 1988, whilst scientific research on both the ground and from the air has surveyed south-west Queensland to study habits and numbers of the bilby. The Astrebla Downs National Park, a protected reserve, includes this western Qld colony. Already there have been successful reintroductions of captive-bred individuals into sites located in Western Australia and South Australia.

In addition, bilbies are being bred in captivity in Queensland, the Northern Territory, and South Australia. This ensures their protection, and there are plans to reintroduce captive-bred bilbies to their former habitat if necessary, to ensure the bilby's overall survival.

Further measures being considered are the removal or increased control of cattle and predators.

The Save the Bilby Fund has more information. See the related link.

You can also contact an organisation like WIRES and inquire with them.

To raise funds for the bilbies cause, Darrel Lea has been selling chocolate bilbies, which have led to a 25 sq km safe haven being erected in Currawinya National Park. On 19 April 2005, 30-40 bilbies were released, and another 6 in February 2006.

Bilbies (small marsupials sometimes known as rabbit-eared bandicoots) are critically endangered, and can only be found in isolated areas of far western Queensland and the Northern Territory, and areas of the Great Sandy Desert, Pilbara and Kimberley areas of Western Australia. In Queensland, they may be seen in a protected area near Charleville, in the west.

See the related link.

Bilbies generally have two joeys at a time.

A female bilby may have one to three babies in a litter.

The bilby has a long snout, and an excellent sense of smell. These two adaptations help it to hunt out and catch small prey such as the small invertebrates (insects and larvae) on which it feeds, and also helps it to reach other foods such as bulbs, fruit, fungi and seeds easily.

No. Australia's most endangered animal is the Gilbert's potoroo.

The greater bilby, also sometimes known as the rabbit-eared bandicoot, is endangered due to loss of habitat and competition with other species. Its biggest competition for food has come from the introduced rabbit. Rabbits also burrow where the bandicoots burrow, but their burrows tend to cause the collapse of the bilbies' burrows, resulting in the bilbies being trapped, and suffocating.
The introduction of foxes and cats to Australia also had an impact on the decline of the bilby population, as they successfully hunt bilbies.

A bilby may be up to 55 cm in body length, with a tail length of up to 29 cm long

Yes. A bilby is a small, large-eared marsupial that lives in semi-arid areas of the Australian outback.

The bilby is critically endangered, with just small colonies of this marsupial left in a few pockets of land.