The Night Parrot
By Sally
In Australia, there are many species of birds, one of many that is native to Australia is the night parrot. The night parrot is endemic to, and only found in, Australia. It is a mainly ground dwelling, nocturnal parrot. Night parrots’ existence was first recorded in Western Australia in 1845. Its Latin classification is Pezoporus Occidentalis.
Night parrots have golden green feathers and a short, stumpy tail. They have been described as big budgies. Night parrots have small, alert eyes and a curved beak. On its feet are 4 claws, 2 facing forwards and 2 facing backwards. It is around 22-25 cm in length, with a wingspan of 44-46 cm.
Night parrots are herbivores, whose diet consists of grasses, herbs and seeds, mainly spinifex grass seeds. They eat on the ground, usually at night. The night parrot moves around when there is food available.
There is a very small amount of information known about the life cycle and breeding of the night parrot. They mate in rainy periods, and the female lays 2-4 small, white eggs on a nest made of little twigs, inside some spinifex grass.
Night parrots live in grasslands and shrubbery of arid Australia, they snuggle into thick clumps of spinifex grass all day, only sometimes coming out for food and water.
Night parrots live in Australia only, but they are not found in NSW, Victoria, or Tasmania. Night parrots are classified as endangered by the IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature), but that status was created by taking all the information from the status of each state:
NSW: Extinct
TASMANIA: Not present
SA: Endangered
NT: Critically endangered
VICTORIA: Extinct
QLD: Endangered
WA: Critically endangered
Researchers say that one of the reasons for their decreasing population is their very bad vision, especially at night, so when they fly, it causes them to run into fences for example.
The last living specimen of night parrots was recorded in WA in 1912, then it disappeared and was thought extinct for about 100 years. But then, in 1990 and 2006, two dead specimens of night parrots were found in Queensland. Now they once again exist, but are very rare, and hard to find.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Birdscoo.com
Birdlife.org.au
Researchgate.net
Dpaw.wa.gov.au
Wikipedia.com
Bushheritage.org.au
Realtime.org.au
Kidadl.com
Trishonsoz.com
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Environment.nsw.gov.au
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ABC.net.au