Some of Australia's richest wildlife regions are at risk – including in national parks – from encroaching development, invasive species and disrupted water flows, a study by BirdLife Australia has found.

Of 315 so-called key biodiversity areas around Australia, 19 are listed by BirdLife as "in danger", up from 12 in 2014.

Many include threatened and endangered birds such as the plains-wanderer. The quail-like ground bird, found in grasslands including the NSW Riverina, is so genetically unique it has its own family.

The important biodiversity sites include Victoria's Bellarine Wetlands, where development pressures from Melbourne's swelling population have pushed the threat rating to "very high", to Tasmania's Bruny Island where logging risks have flared again.