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 Night Parrot Pezoporus occidentalis Page contents
The Night Parrot Pezoporus occidentalis is one of Australia's most intriguing birds and possibly its least known. It lives in remote parts of the continent, comes out at night and runs along the ground like a quail. Since its discovery by Europeans, the Night Parrot has been a subject of debate, particularly in regard to its abundance and natural history.
The Night Parrot is a medium sized bird, about 23 cm long. It is mottled yellowish-green and dark brown over most of the body, with the lower belly and under tail coverts yellow. There is a pale yellow stripe through the middle of the wing. This species closely resembles the Ground Parrot Pezoporus wallicus of coast southeastern and southwestern mainland and Tasmania. It differs by lacking the orange band on the forehead across the base of the upper mandible, a noticeably shorter tail, and shorter, straighter claws on the toes.
The first known specimen of the Night Parrot was collected by John Mcdouall Stuart in October 1845, north of Coopers Creek, far northern South Australia, as part of an expedition led by Charles Sturt. The Night Parrot was not formally named until 1861, when John Gould described it as Geopsittacus occidentalis, based on a bird collected in 1854 near Mount Farmer, Western Australia. Until the 1870s, sightings appeared to be very occasional. The period between 1870 and 1890 was the most productive known, with numerous sightings and another 20 specimens were collected. Of the 22 museum specimens collected last century, F. W. Andrews, working for the South Australian Museum, collected 16, all during this period. Following this period of abundance, there was a marked decline in confirmed sightings. They became rarer from the mid 1880s, stopping almost completely by 1900. A number of writers who knew the birds in 1875-1885 noted that it had apparently gone from their area entirely since then. Of the few sightings of Night Parrots between 1890 and the 1930s, the only specimen was one accidentally shot in Western Australia in 1912.
There were a number of reported sightings in the 1960s and early 1970s, but none could be confirmed. In 1979, a team from the South Australian Museum saw a several birds in in the far north-west of South Australia. In 1990, a dead specimen was discovered at the side of a road in southwestern Queensland. Seven separate sightings were made in 1992 and 1993 near Cloncurry, a short distance north of where the specimen was found. An attempt to confirm these sighting the following year was not successful. Publicity campaigns in several states have elicited observations, but despite organised searches, no birds could be found.
Although originally placed in its own monotypic genus, Geopsittacus, the Night Parrot's close relationship to the Ground Parrot has long been recognised. Anatomical and molecular work confirms that the two species should be placed within the same genus, Pezoporus. The closest relatives are the small parrots in the genus Neophema and the Budgerigar, Melopsittacus undulatus. Despite similarities in colour, it does not appear close to the Kakapo, Strigops habroptilus, of New Zealand.
Night Parrots have been reported from every state on the Australia mainland. Apparently suitable habitat occurs, or has occurred, across most of the inland, covering at least half of the continent. Records are sparsely distributed through this area.
Night Parrots are birds of the arid zone where there is dense, low vegetation, which provides them shelter during the day. Most records come from hummock grasslands with spinifex (porcupine grass, Triodia) or from areas dominated by samphire. It has been suggested that birds move into the grasslands when Triodia is seeding. They have also been reported in low chenopod shrublands with saltbush and bluebush, and from areas of Mitchell grass Astrebla with scattered chenopods. Many records have come from waterholes, and almost all reports from areas of Triodia have noted the presence of nearby water.
Few details are known of the biology of the Night Parrot, with most information on the natural history came from early observers. The species is secretive and almost all confirmed sightings of feeding or drinking birds have come after dark. In the 1800s, Aboriginal people familiar with the bird referred to its nocturnal behaviour, and early observers reported birds flying to water once night has fallen. A number of reports have been of birds flushed by traveling stock at night. A captive bird in a London zoo was active throughout the night. Sightings during the day almost always have been of birds flushed from hiding places by herds of stock, dogs or fire. A bird would sit tight, flushing only if this were disturbance very close, actually affecting the clump of vegetation in which it was hiding. Early observers stressed the dependence of the parrot upon dense spinifex or samphire for daytime roosting spots and for nesting. Although the Night Parrot is capable of flight, it prefers to spend most of its time on the ground. Some reports indicated that it runs between shelter when possible, in preference to flying. When it flies, it usually goes only a short distance, flying close low, before landing and escaping on foot. According to early reports, the nightly routine started with a visit to a waterhole. After this, the birds moved to areas with Triodia to feed on the seeds. This sequence could be repeated several times during the night. Observations of the captive bird's feeding preferences and the presence of green herbage in the crop of a specimen suggests that green plants may form a significant part of the Night Parrot's diet. A low but carrying two-toned whistle was given by birds coming into drink. The Night Parrot is presumably like other arid zone birds in being markedly nomadic. The extent of the movements and the possibility of some seasonality in any part of the range are unknown. Nomadism could help explain the absence of birds during follow up searches of reports. Unlike other Australian parrots, but like the Ground Parrot, the Night Parrot, does not nest in a preformed hollow of some kind, but instead builds a nest. It places a layer of small sticks in an expanded cavity at the end of a tunnel under a clump of Triodia or a samphire bush. A four egg clutch has been reported, and there is also a observation of two adult parrots accompanied by six young birds.
For most of the 20th century, ornithological opinion about the status of the Night Parrot has ranged from presumed extinct, to indeterminate and perhaps not threatened at all. The species is nocturnal and secretive and occurs in isolated areas little frequented by humans could create an impression of excessive rarity, which may not necessarily be a true reflection of its status. The numbers of Night Parrots may fluctuate in response to climatic changes and consequent variations in habitat and food resources. The period 1870-1885 was probably one of exceptionally good seasons which allowed the species to expand its numbers and range. Because of the scarcity of opportunistic reports and the failure to locate birds during targeted searches over the past three decades, it seems clear that the species is not at all common, even if it should turn out be widely distributed. The apparent decrease of Night Parrot numbers cannot be a response only to extended periods of less favourable weather. Several possible reasons have been proposed for the decline of this species in recent years:
The latest edition of the Action Plan for Australian Birds has amended the conservation status of the Night Parrot from the Insufficiently Known to Critically Endangered. Birdlife International and the IUCN Red Book also list this species as critically endangered. It is included on Appendix I of the Convention on the International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES), the category of greatest protection.
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P. and Hams J. 1. 1976. Specimens of the night parrot in museums throughout the world. Emu 76 120-126. Garnett S. and Crowley, G.M. 2000. The Action Plan for Australian Birds 2000. Environment Australia, Canberra. Garnett S., Crowley G., Duncan R., Baker N and Doherty P. 1993. Notes on live Night Parrot sightings in north-western Queensland. Emu 93 292-296. Joseph L 1988. A review of the conservation status of Australian parrots in 1987. Biological Conservation 40 261-280. Kershaw J. A. 1943. Concerning a rare parrot. Victorian Naturalist 59: 196. Leeton P. R. J., Chdstidis L., Westerman M. and Boles W. E. 1994. Molecular phylogenetic relationships of the Night Parrot (Geopsittacus occidentalis) and the Ground Parrot (Pezoporus wallicus). Auk 111 831-841. McGilp J. N. 1931. Geopsittacus occidentalis, Night Parrot. The South Australian Ornithologist July 1931 69-70. Menkhorst P. W. and Isles A. C. 1981. The Night Parrot Geopsittacus occidentalis: evidence of its occurrence in north-western Victoria during the 1950s. Emu 81 239-240. Murie J. 1868. On the nocturnal Ground-Parakeet (Geopsittacus occidentalis, Gould). Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London for the year 1868. Parker S. A. 1980. Birds and conservation parks in the north-east of South Australia. South Australian Parks and Conservation 3 11-18 Powell B. 1970. The Night Parrot. South Australian Ornithologist 26 208-209. Schodde R. and Mason 1. J. 1980. Nocturnal Birds of Australia. Landsdowne, Melbourne, Australia. Storr G. M. 1960. Possible occurrence of the Night Parrot in the Kimberley Division of Western Australia. Emu 60 80. Whitlock F. L. 1924. Journey to Central Australia in search of the Night Parrot. Emu 23 248- 281. . ANZECC 1991. The List of Endangered Vertebrate Fauna. April 1991. Australian National Parks and Wildlife Service, Canberra, Australia. Campbell A. J. 1915. Missing Birds. Ernu 19 167-168. Cleland, J. B. 1937. Ornithology in South Australia. Part 1 Emu 36 197-221. Gibson D. F. 1986. A biological survey of the Tanami Desert in the Northern Territory. Conservation Commission of the Northern Territory. Technical Report 30 Keast A. 1952. Adventures with Central Australian birds. The Australian Museum Magazine December 385-90. Maher P. N. 1995. Night Parrot Survey, Techniques and Habitat Requirements with Notes on the Fauna of the Winton and Cloncurry Districts. Unpublished Report to Queensland Department of Environment and Heritage, Toowoomba, Queensland. Morton S. R. 1990. The impact of European settlement on the vertebrate animals of and Australia: a conceptual model. In D. A. Saunders, A. J. M. Hopkins and R. A. How (eds) Australian Ecosystems: 200 Year's of Utilization Degradation and Reconstruction. Surrey Beatty and Sons Pty Ltd, Chipping Norton, New South Wales. Wilson H 1937. Notes on the Night Parrot, with references to recent occurrences. Emu 37 79- 87. North A. J. 1898. List of birds collected by the Calvert Exploring Expedition in Western Australia. Transactions of the Royal Society of South Australia 22 125-192. Parker S. A. 1971. Critical notes on the status of some Central Australian birds. Emu 71 99- 102. Serventy D. L. and Whittell H. M. 1976. Birds of Western Australia. 5th Edition, University of Western Australia Press: Perth. Stafford Smith D. M. and Pickup G. 1990. Pattern and production in and lands. In D. A. Saunders, A. J. M. Hopkins and R. A. How (eds) Australian Ecosystems: 200 Years of Utilization Degradation and Reconstruction. Surrey Beatty and Sons Pty Ltd, Chipping Norton, New South Wales. Storr G. M. 1977. Birds of the Northern Territory. Western Australian Museum Special Publication No. 7. Storr G. M. 1980. Birds of the Kimberley Division of Western Australia. Western Australian Museum Special Publication No. 11. Storr G. M. 1986. Birds of the South-eastern Interior of Western Australia. Records of the Western Australian Museum, Supplement No. 26. Weston M. 1995. Salt, Sweat and Sweet Satisfaction: Banding Hooded Plovers at Lake Gore, Esperance in 1995. Western Australian Bird Notes 74 1-2.
Walter Boles - Ornithology
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