Emily Chan
The night parrot, one of the rarest birds in Australia, was thought to have been extinct for over a century. But then, a dead night parrot was found in 1990 in western Queensland. Another dead specimen was discovered 16 years later.
In 2013, a small living population of yellowish-green birds was found in southwestern Queensland. Their numbers were in the tens.
But now, there might be as many as 50 night parrots living in the Ngururrpa Indigenous Protected Area (IPA) in western Australia’s Great Sandy Desert, according to a new study.
The highly secretive parrot is the most endangered bird species in the world. The parrots are also notoriously difficult to detect. They create tunnels and nests in thick spinifex bushes, emerging at night to forage for seeds.
They only fly when panicked or when in search of water. A team of Indigenous rangers and scientists came across physical evidence of the birds and managed to track down the small population.
“We, the Ngururrpa Rangers, have been looking for night parrots since 2019. First, we thought they were only living in one area, in our neighbor’s country, but then we started checking in our area and ended up finding evidence that they are here,” said Clifford Sunfly, a co-author of the study and a Ngururrpa ranger. “We are still looking for them to make sure they are safe, and we are still finding them.”
During their search, the rangers identified feathers and nests with eggs belonging to the night parrots.
A bird even landed in their camp one night. The rangers narrowed down the parrot’s habitat to 31 potential roosting sites.
The team then placed sound recorders in those areas to listen for its calls, which consisted of croaks, whistles, and bell-like noises.
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