The greater bilby (Macrotis lagotis) is a ground-dwelling Australian marsupial related to bandicoots, not a rabbit. Its enormous ears, backward-opening pouch, spiral burrows and termite-rich diet are adaptations to life in hot, dry country. Here are ten evidence-based facts about how bilbies look, feed, reproduce and survive—and why their remaining range needs protection.
At a glance
| Feature | What is known about the greater bilby |
|---|---|
| Scientific name | Macrotis lagotis |
| Group | Ground-dwelling marsupial in the bandicoot group |
| Body size | 20–55 cm, a range reported by the Australian Museum factsheet updated 17 September 2026 |
| Activity | Primarily forages after dark and shelters in burrows by day |
| Burrow dimensions | Spiral burrows can reach 3 m long and 2 m deep, according to the same factsheet |
| Food | Insects, especially termites and larvae, plus seeds, fungi, bulbs and fruit |
| Wild breeding season | Usually March to May in the museum’s account; captive animals may breed year-round |
| Gestation | About 14 days, followed by development in the pouch |
Fact 1: A bilby is a marsupial, not a rabbit
The greater bilby is a ground-dwelling marsupial in the bandicoot group. Its scientific name is Macrotis lagotis. The familiar “Easter bilby” theme comes from a superficial resemblance to a rabbit—especially the long ears—but the animals are classified in entirely different mammal groups.
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Bilbies have a slim body, a pointed snout, a long tongue and powerful forelimbs armed with claws. The Australian Museum factsheet gives a body-size range of 20–55 cm and reports sex-specific body and tail measurements rather than one size that fits every individual. Their fur is described as silky blue-grey; the ears are pinkish, and the tail is black and white.
Those features form a useful field identification combination: very large ears, a narrow muzzle, a long tail and evidence of vigorous digging. A rabbit-like silhouette alone is not enough to identify one.
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Fact 2: Their huge ears do more than make them look distinctive
Bilbies have conspicuously long ears, but the ears are part of a sensory and heat-management strategy for an animal living in arid environments. The museum says bilbies have poor vision and rely heavily on their ears and sense of smell while searching for food. Hearing can help detect movement in darkness, when visual detail is limited.
The ears also provide a large exposed surface that can help release body heat, although the factsheet’s central behavioral point is that bilbies avoid the hottest part of the day by remaining underground. In practical terms, the ears are not a decorative “rabbit” trait: they work with smell, touch and nocturnal activity to locate food and detect danger.
Fact 3: A bilby can engineer a deep, spiral shelter
Strong forelimbs and long claws let bilbies excavate both shelter and food. The Australian Museum describes spiral burrows up to 3 m long and 2 m deep. A winding tunnel gives an animal a protected retreat without requiring a large, obvious surface entrance.
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For conservation workers, preserving soil that can be excavated is therefore as important as preserving visible vegetation. Compacted ground, altered fire patterns or heavy disturbance can reduce both shelter options and access to food.
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Fact 4: Bilbies do most of their foraging at night
During the day, bilbies shelter in their burrows. After dark they travel across the ground to search for food, using smell and hearing as well as their limited vision. Nocturnal activity reduces exposure to daytime temperatures and changes when a bilby encounters predators or competing animals.
Night foraging does not mean bilbies are inactive during the day. Digging and maintaining burrows, resting, rearing young and moving between shelters are all part of the animal’s daily energy budget. The day-night split is an adaptation to an arid landscape, not simply a preference for darkness.
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Fact 5: Their menu is broad, and much of their moisture comes with food
Greater bilbies eat a varied selection of foods. Termites and other insects, particularly larvae, are important items, but the diet also includes seeds, fungi, bulbs and fruit. A bilby’s long claws uncover buried resources, while its long, sticky tongue helps it lick up small seeds and other particles.
The museum factsheet says the food supply provides enough moisture that water is not crucial to the diet. That wording does not mean a bilby can never encounter or drink water; it means the animal can obtain much of its moisture from what it eats, an important advantage where free water is scarce.
Food availability changes with rainfall, plant growth, soil conditions and fire history. A landscape that appears empty to a person may still contain termite colonies, fungal growth, bulbs and seeds that a bilby can detect underground.
Fact 6: Bilbies occupy several kinds of dry Australian habitat
The greater bilby is associated with arid and semi-arid environments rather than one single vegetation type. The Australian Museum lists arid rocky soils with little ground cover, semi-arid shrublands and woodlands, spinifex and tussock grasslands among its habitats.
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These settings differ in plant cover and soil, but they share features a bilby can use: diggable ground, underground food and places where a burrow can provide thermal refuge. Healthy habitat is therefore more than a patch of vegetation. It includes the soil structure, food-producing plants and disturbance pattern that allow bilbies to excavate and forage.
Fact 7: The species once occupied a much larger part of mainland Australia
Greater bilbies were formerly widespread across arid and semi-arid mainland Australia. Their present distribution is much smaller, concentrated in western and central desert areas and parts of Queensland, according to the museum factsheet.
This is a range change, not merely a change in how often people see the animal. When a species disappears from large portions of its former range, populations can become separated, local conditions can differ sharply and recovery becomes more difficult. Reports of a bilby in one protected area therefore do not represent the status of the species everywhere.
Fact 8: Reproduction is unusually fast for a mammal of this size
The Australian Museum reports a gestation period of about 14 days. After birth, the extremely underdeveloped young continue growing in the mother’s pouch. The pouch usually has room for two young, according to the factsheet.
In the wild, breeding usually occurs from March to May in the museum’s account, while captive animals can breed throughout the year. The same source reports that a female may produce up to four litters and eight young in a year. These are reported patterns, not a schedule every individual follows: rainfall, food, health, age and local conditions can all affect breeding.
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A short gestation does not make population recovery automatic. Young still require extended care, and adults need safe burrows and enough food to reproduce successfully.
Fact 9: The female’s pouch opens backward
A female bilby’s pouch opens toward the rear. That orientation helps keep loose soil out while she digs, a practical adaptation for a mother that spends much of her life excavating and foraging in dusty ground.
The backward opening also illustrates why marsupial anatomy should be understood in the context of behavior. The pouch is not an isolated novelty; its position works with the animal’s digging lifestyle and the long period during which young remain protected after the brief pregnancy.
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The Australian Museum describes two bilby species. The lesser bilby is thought to have become extinct in the 1950s, leaving the greater bilby as the surviving species. “Thought to have become extinct” reflects the evidence available for that species and avoids claiming a precisely observed final individual.
That history matters because the greater bilby’s survival is not the same as security. Losing one member of a small group of related animals shows how quickly a once-widespread marsupial can disappear from the landscape.
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Why are bilbies declining?
The museum identifies several interacting pressures behind the greater bilby’s range reduction:
- Habitat change and agricultural demand: land-use changes can remove or alter the soils, plants and shelter a bilby needs.
- Competition from introduced animals: introduced species can consume food or use shelter resources that bilbies depend on.
- Predation by foxes and feral cats: these predators add pressure, especially where native prey have few safe refuges.
- Changing fire patterns: altered fire frequency, intensity or timing can change vegetation, ground cover and the availability of insects, seeds and bulbs.
Because these pressures overlap, a single intervention is unlikely to solve the problem everywhere. Effective conservation has to protect habitat, manage predators and introduced competitors, and maintain fire patterns that support food and shelter.
Are bilbies endangered?
Use the exact conservation category for the jurisdiction and assessment system being discussed. The Australian Museum factsheet updated 17 September 2026 uses both “vulnerable” and “endangered” in different parts of its identification material, so those words should not be treated as one universal label without naming the relevant assessment.
The secure conclusion from the museum’s account is that the greater bilby has suffered a major reduction in range and faces documented pressures from habitat change, introduced competitors, foxes, feral cats and altered fire regimes. Conservation status can be revised as assessments and jurisdictions change; the underlying need to protect remaining populations is clear from the biological evidence.
How is a bilby different from a rabbit?
| Comparison | Greater bilby | Rabbit |
|---|---|---|
| Taxonomy | Marsupial in the bandicoot group | Placental mammal; not a marsupial |
| Body plan | Long ears, pointed snout, long tongue, clawed forelimbs and a female pouch | Rabbit-like appearance is the source of the Easter comparison, but it lacks the bilby’s marsupial pouch |
| Ecology described here | Nocturnal forager that excavates spiral burrows and searches for insects, seeds, fungi, bulbs and fruit | Not the same Australian desert specialist described for the bilby |
| Reproduction | About 14 days’ gestation, with young continuing development in a pouch | Reproductive biology follows a different placental-mammal pattern |
The resemblance is therefore visual and cultural, not taxonomic. Calling a bilby a rabbit obscures the adaptations that make it a distinctive Australian marsupial.
Quick Recap
What to remember about bilbies
- Look for the combination of huge ears, a pointed muzzle, a long tail and digging evidence—not a rabbit-like outline alone.
- Think underground by day and active after dark.
- Remember that food includes termites and larvae as well as plant and fungal material, and that food can supply much of the animal’s moisture.
- Treat the remaining western, central and Queensland populations as part of a reduced range, not evidence that the former distribution is intact.
- Interpret any conservation label with its jurisdiction and assessment date, while recognizing the documented pressures on the species.
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