Night parrot
Common name: night parrot
Scientific name: Pezoporus occidentalis
Family: Psittacidae (parrots)
Conservation status: The night parrot is Endangered in Queensland (Nature Conservation Act 1992) and nationally (Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999). It is listed as data deficient under the Department of Environment and Resource Management Back on Track species prioritisation framework.
Description
The night parrot is about 24 cm long and has a wingspan of 44-46 cm. Adults are mainly yellowish-green in colour with streaks, spots and bars of dark brown, black and yellow, including characteristic dark arrowhead markings on the wings. A pale-yellow wing-bar is prominent in flight. Although poorly known, juveniles are thought to be similar to adults but duller. The night parrot resembles the budgerigar Melopsittacus undulatus but is larger.
Habitat and distribution
Historic accounts and unconfirmed sightings indicate that the night parrot is associated with samphire plains, often around intermittent salt lake systems and with chenopod (blue bush and salt bush) communities. It also occurs among spinifex on rocky ridges and hills or lateritic breakaways. Night parrots have been encountered singly or in small loose groups. A total of 24 specimen records and numerous sightings of varying reliability have been made from a large area of the arid interior of Australia, including south-western and western Queensland, southern Northern Territory, central Western Australia, northern and central South Australia, far south-western New South Wales and north-western Victoria. The most recent specimens have been collected in western Queensland. A dry, road-killed specimen was found north-east of Boulia in October 1990 and another dry, headless specimen was found in Diamantina National Park in September 2006, less than 200 km from the 1990 site.
It is significant that the specimen found in 2006 was an immature bird, as this confirms that a breeding event took place less than two years before the bird was found. This suggests that a population of night parrots may still exist in western Queensland.
Life history and behaviour
The night parrot is a ground dwelling bird that flies only in short bursts. It is nocturnal in its feeding behaviour and movements. By day it is thought to hide in dense saltbush or spinifex, emerging at dusk. The species is known to drink at watering places soon after dark, then dispersing to feed. Its diet consists of seeds of grasses and herbaceous plants, as well as other vegetative matter. The night parrot is thought to be highly nomadic.
Very little is known about the life cycle of the night parrot. It is thought breeding occurs after rain, with eggs being laid in a nest constructed amongst grass clumps on the ground. Four eggs have been recorded from one nest. Nesting frequency is probably influenced by seasonal conditions.
Threatening processes
Threats that may affect the night parrot include predation by feral animals (especially cats and foxes), alteration of habitat due to the presence of domestic stock and changed fire regimes, grazing by stock and rabbits resulting in decreased food availability, reduced availability of water as a result of over-use by feral camels and habitat destruction and degradation.
Recovery actions
- Encourage ornithological societies and volunteer bird watchers to report all sightings, including as much detail as possible on habitat, possible threats and behaviour.
- Manage known habitats of the night parrot to restore and maintain vegetation cover and condition.
Related information
Higgins, P.J. (ed). 1999, Handbook of Australian, New Zealand and Antarctic Birds. Vol. 4. Parrots to Dollarbird. Melbourne: Oxford University Press.
McDougall, A., Porter, G., Mostert, M., Cupitt, R., Cupitt, S., Joseph, L., Murphy, S., Janetzki, H., Gallagher, A., and Burbidge, A. 2009. Another piece in an Australian ornithological puzzle - a second Night Parrot is found dead in Queensland. EMU 109, 198-203.
Olsen, P. (2009) Night Parrots: fugitives of the inland. Pages 121 - 146 In: Robin, L., Joseph, L. and R. Heinshohn (eds.) Boom and bust: bird stories for a dry country. CSIRO Publishing, Collingwood.
Last updated 8 March 2011