Night Parrot
Conservation status
Critically endangered
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animal Phylum: Chordata Class: Aves Order: Psittaciformes Family: Psittacidae Subfamily: Psittacinae Tribe: Platycercini Genus: Pezoporus Species: P. occidentalis
Binomial name
Pezoporus occidentalis (Gould, 1861)
Synonyms
Geopsittacus occidentalis Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... The conservation status of a species is an indicator of the likelihood of that species continuing to survive either in the present day or the future. ... Image File history File links Status_iucn3. ... . ... Scientific classification or biological classification is a method by which biologists group and categorize species of organisms. ... Template:Tax more Chordates (phylum Chordata) are a group of animals that includes the vertebrates, together with several closely related invertebrates. ... For other meanings of bird, see bird (disambiguation). ... Families Cacatuidae Psittacidae The order Psittaciformes (Parrots) includes about 353 species of bird which are generally grouped into two families: the Cacatuidae or cockatoos, and the Psittacidae or true parrots. ... For the runtime engine for Perl 6, see Parrot virtual machine. ... Tribes Psittrichadini Cyclopsittacini Polytelini Psittaculini Psittacini The Psittacinae is a subfamily in the parrot family Psittacidae. ... A broad-tailed parrot is any of about 35 species belonging to the subfamily Platycercinae. ... Species Pezoporus occidentalis Pezoporus wallicus Synonyms Geopsittacus The genus Pezoporus contains two Australian species: the Night Parrot (Pezoporus occidentalis) and the Ground Parrot (Pezoporus wallicus). ... In biology, binomial nomenclature is the formal method of naming species. ... John Gould John Gould (14 September 1804 – 3 February 1881) was an English ornithologist. ... 1861 (MDCCCLXI) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link with display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Thursday of the Julian calendar) // January 1 - Benito Juárez captures Mexico City January 2 - Friedrich Wilhelm IV of Prussia dies and is succeeded by... In scientific nomenclature, synonyms are different scientific names used for a single taxon. ...

The Night Parrot (Pezoporus occidentalis) is (or was, depending on opinion) a small broad-tailed parrot endemic to the continent of Australia. The species was originally placed within its own genus (Geopsittacus) (e.g. Forshaw & Cooper, 1989^{[verification needed]}, also Gould, 1865), but most authors now prefer to place it within the genus Pezoporus following Leeton et al. (1998), together with the Ground Parrot. The well-known budgerigar is a not-too-distant relative (Christidis et al., 1991) of these birds. Genera  Psephotus  Cyanoramphus  Lathamus  Barnarduis  Melopsittacus  Neophema  Neopsephotus  Northiella  Pezoporus  Platycercus  Purpureicephalus A broad-tailed parrot is any of about 35 species belonging to the subfamily Platycercinae. ... In biology and ecology endemic means exclusively native to a place or biota, in contrast to cosmopolitan or introduced. ... Species Pezoporus occidentalis Pezoporus wallicus Synonyms Geopsittacus The genus Pezoporus contains two Australian species: the Night Parrot (Pezoporus occidentalis) and the Ground Parrot (Pezoporus wallicus). ... Binomial name Pezoporus wallicus Kerr, 1792 The Ground Parrot (Pezoporus wallicus) is one of only four ground-dwelling parrots in the world, the others being its closest relative, the extremely rare Night Parrot, the somewhat closely related Antipodes Island Parakeet, and the unrelated highly endangered kakapo from New Zealand. ... Binomial name Melopsittacus undulatus (Shaw, 1805) The Budgerigar (Melopsittacus undulatus, nicknamed budgie), the only species in the Australian genus Melopsittacus, is a small parrot belonging to the tribe of the broad-tailed parrots (Platycercini); these are sometimes considered a subfamily (Platycercinae), which may be correct, in which the budgerigar is...

Description

A relatively small parrot, the species' colour is predominantly a yellowish green, mottled with dark brown, blacks and yellows. It was distinguished from the superficially similar Ground Parrot by its shorter tail and different range and habitat. Predominantly terrestrial, taking to the air only when panicked or in search of water, the night parrot had furtive, nocturnal habits and—even when abundant—was apparently a highly secretive species. Its natural habitat appeared to be the spinifex grass which still dominates much of the dry, dusty Australian interior; other early reports also indicate that it never strayed far from water. Binomial name Pezoporus wallicus Kerr, 1792 The Ground Parrot (Pezoporus wallicus) is one of only four ground-dwelling parrots in the world, the others being its closest relative, the extremely rare Night Parrot, the somewhat closely related Antipodes Island Parakeet, and the unrelated highly endangered kakapo from New Zealand. ... species Spinifex is any species of various clump-forming, perennial Australian grasses, growing in arid regions and having awl-shaped, pointed leaves. ...

Conservation status

The population size of this species is currently a matter of debate. Estimates range from extinct to not threatened at all. It is, however, currently listed on the IUCN Red List as Critically Endangered. Indeed, there have been only a few reliable records of the bird since the 1880s, with the last authenticated report dating from 2006, when rangers found a dead night parrot which had flown into a barbed wire fence in the Diamantina National Park in south western Queensland. Prior to this, the last reliable sightings were in 1990 when a roadkill specimen was discovered by scientists returning from an expedition in a remote part of Queensland and 1979 when a team of scientists from the South Australian Museum spotted an apparent flock of the birds in the far north of South Australia. Ornithologists continue to patrol the outback for signs that the species still thrives, even checking the old nests of other birds, such as the Zebra Finch, for fragments of night parrot feathers. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species (also known as the IUCN Red List and Red Data List), created in 1963, is the worlds most comprehensive inventory of the global conservation status of plant and animal species and can be found here. ... Diamantina is a national park in Queensland (Australia), 1278 km west of Brisbane. ... Capital Brisbane Government Constitutional monarchy Governor Quentin Bryce Premier Peter Beattie (ALP) Federal representation  - House seats 28  - Senate seats 12 Gross State Product (2004-05)  - Product ($m)  $158,506 (3rd)  - Product per capita  $40,170/person (6th) Population (End of September 2006)  - Population  4,070,400 (3rd)  - Density  2. ... Capital Brisbane Government Constitutional monarchy Governor Quentin Bryce Premier Peter Beattie (ALP) Federal representation  - House seats 28  - Senate seats 12 Gross State Product (2004-05)  - Product ($m)  $158,506 (3rd)  - Product per capita  $40,170/person (6th) Population (End of September 2006)  - Population  4,070,400 (3rd)  - Density  2. ... The South Australian Museum situated on Adelaides cultural boulevard, North Terrace. ...

The night parrot remains one of the most elusive and mysterious birds in the world of ornithology.

References

• BirdLife International (2004). Pezoporus occidentalis. 2006 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. IUCN 2006. Retrieved on 25 September 2006. Database entry includes justification for why this species is critically endangered.

• Boles, Walter E.; Longmore, N. W. & Thompson, M. C. (1994): A Recent Specimen of the Night Parrot Geopsittacus occidentalis. Emu 94(1): 37-40. DOI: 10.1071/MU9940037 HTML abstract

• Christidis, Leslie; Schodde, R.; Shaw, D. D. & Maynes, S. F. (1991): Relationships among the Australo-Papuan Parrots, Lorikeets, and Cockatoos (Aves, Psittaciformes): Protein Evidence. Condor 93(2): 302-317. PDF fulltext

• Forshaw, Joseph M. & Cooper, William T. (1981): Parrots of the World (3rd ed). Press, Willoughby, Australia.

• Leeton, Peter R. J., Christidis, Leslie, Westerman, Michael & Boles, Walter E. (1994): Molecular phylogenetic relationships of the Night Parrot (Geopsittacus occidentalis) and the Ground Parrot (Pezoporus wallicus). Auk 111(4): 833-843 PDF fulltext

• Ex-parrot sighting in Qld sparks interest, Australian Broadcasting Corporation, 19 February 2007. Retrieved 19 February 2007

• Roberts, Greg: Bad news for one night parrot, good for species, The Australian, 16 February 2007. Retrieved 16 February 2007

• Gould J. Handbook to the Birds of Australia. London. 1865. Reprinted 1972, Lansdowne Press.

The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species (also known as the IUCN Red List and Red Data List), created in 1963, is the worlds most comprehensive inventory of the global conservation status of plant and animal species and can be found here. ... The World Conservation Union or International Union for the Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN) is an international organization dedicated to natural resource conservation. ... Emu, subtitled Austral Ornithology (ISSN 0158-4197), is the peer-reviewed scientific journal of the Royal Australasian Ornithologists Union (RAOU). ... A digital object identifier (or DOI) is a standard for persistently identifying a piece of intellectual property on a digital network and associating it with related data, the metadata, in a structured extensible way. ... The Condor is the quarterly journal of the Cooper Ornithological Society. ... The Auk is a quarterly journal and the official publication of the American Ornithologists Union, having been continuously published by that body since 1884. ... The Australian Broadcasting Corporation or ABC (formerly the Australian Broadcasting Commission) is Australias national non-profit public broadcaster. ... February 19 is the 50th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. ... 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the Anno Domini (common) era. ... February 19 is the 50th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. ... 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the Anno Domini (common) era. ... The Australian (informally referred to as The Oz) is a national daily broadsheet newspaper published by Rupert Murdochs News Corporation. ... February 16 is the 47th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the Anno Domini (common) era. ... February 16 is the 47th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the Anno Domini (common) era. ...

External links

• BirdLife Species Factsheet: Night Parrot.