Paradise parrot
Common name: Paradise parrot
Scientific name: Psephotus pulcherrimus Animal group: ParrotsConservation status: The paradise parrot is listed as presumed extinct in Queensland under the Nature Conservation Act 1992, and as extinct nationally under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999.
Background: “It is, perhaps, a matter for pride to have seen, in a state of freedom, any bird that is believed now to have vanished from the face of the earth. But certainly, there would be much greater gratification in learning of that bird’s recovery, and especially so in the case of such an exquisite creature as the paradise parrot” (Chisholm, 1961).
Naturalist Alec Chisholm wrote this in 1961 while reminiscing about the only time he saw the paradise parrot in 1922. The last time this bird was seen was in 1927, with a sighting in the Burnett River area in Queensland and another at Inverell in New South Wales.
There has not been a confirmed sighting of the paradise parrot for more than 70 years.
Description: With the scientific name Psephotus pulcherrimus (pulcherrimus meaning “most beautiful”), the paradise parrot was aptly named. It was a long-tailed, slender parrot about 27–30cm long. Both the male and the female had bright red shoulder patches on dark brown wings; a turquoise rump; and a long, thin bronze-green tail. The plainer female had a light orange-brown face and throat turning pale blue on the chest and belly. In the male, the forehead and area under the tail were red and the turquoise blue on the rump extended around to the belly and continued upward in front of the wing where it blended into the light yellow-green of the parrot’s face and chest. The head was capped with dark brown and had yellow feathers around the eye.
Habitat and former distribution: Paradise parrots lived in open eucalypt woodland and open forest with a grassy understorey. The presence of termite mounds for nest sites is also an important habitat requirement.
Its distribution once extended from southern central Queensland to south-east Queensland and northern New South Wales.
Life history and behaviour: The paradise parrot spent considerable time on the ground feeding on grass. Alec Chisholm observed a pair of parrots feeding in 1922 and provided the following description: “The method of feeding was to seize a grass-stem bent near its base and run it through the bill until the seed was reached. In odd cases the grass-stem was thick; then the bird would climb on and bend it down with its weight” (Chisholm, 1929).
It was believed to occur in pairs or small flocks (possibly family groups).
They nested in termite mounds, digging a 20–30cm long tunnel ending in a 40cm deep nesting chamber. There were also some reports of paradise parrots nesting in cavities excavated in creek banks. Very few nests have ever been examined and little is known of the time taken to incubate the eggs or how long it took for young parrots to develop. Females were known to lay up to five eggs (three on average).
Breeding was recorded between August and April.
Mathews (1915). Birds of Australia: “It is a matter for deep regret, that this most beautiful of Parrots appears to have become extinct without any lasting record of its life-history being made known.”
Reasons for extinction: Land clearing, grazing by sheep and cattle, and changed patterns of burning all contributed to the destruction of the paradise parrot’s habitat and, in particular, the reduction in the availability of native grass seeds. Trapping for aviaries, egg collection, the spread of prickly pear and the occurrence of a series of droughts were also factors that are likely to have contributed to the paradise parrot’s extinction.
Is it lost?
Alec Chisholm, a noted conservationist and journalist with the Daily Mail (now The Courier Mail) initiated a search for the paradise parrot in 1916 by placing articles in Brisbane and country newspapers titled “Is it lost?”. It took five years before Chisholm had a chance to see his only pair of paradise parrots in the southern Burnett River district. Unfortunately there were only a few more confirmed sightings of these parrots, with the last in 1927.
Even so, unconfirmed sightings occur occasionally, and it is still worthwhile keeping an eye out if you find yourself in a place where the paradise parrot once lived. Good luck!
Further information:
Chisholm, A.H. (1929). Birds and Green Places. J.M. Dent and Sons Pty. Ltd., London.
Chisholm, A.H. (1961). The last of the paradise parrots, in Terres, J.K. (ed.). Discovery. Great moments in the lives of outstanding naturalists. Lippincott, Philadelphia.
Garnett, S.T. and Crowley, G.M. (2000). The Action Plan for Australian Birds 2000. Environment Australia.
Reader’s Digest (1988). Reader’s Digest Complete Book of Australian Birds. Reader’s Digest, Sydney.
Last updated: 30 August 2005