The Night Parrot

CSIRO PUBLISHING

Emu, 2008, 108, 233–236

www.publish.csiro.au/journals/emu

The Night Parrot (Pezoporus occidentalis) in northern Western Australia: a recent sighting from the Pilbara region Robert A. Davis A,C and Brenden M. Metcalf B A

School of Animal Biology M092, The University of Western Australia, 35 Stirling Highway, Crawley, WA 6009, Australia. B Hotham River Cottage, 9132 Albany Highway, Boddington, WA 6390, Australia. C Corresponding author. Email: [email protected]

Abstract. The Night Parrot (Pezoporus occidentalis) is an enigmatic species thought possibly to be extinct until the recent recoveries of two dead specimens from Queensland. The type specimen and many early sightings, however, came from Western Australia. We describe a new sighting of the Night Parrot from the Pilbara region of Western Australia, on 12 April 2005, at a well near the Fortescue Marshes. We provide details of our sighting and review the behaviour observed in the context of historical and contemporary records from the north-west of Western Australia. Introduction The Night Parrot (Pezoporus occidentalis) is Australia’s most enigmatic bird. Its continued existence was confirmed with the recovery of two dead specimens from western Queensland, one in 1990 and one in 2006 (Boles et al. 1994; Stafford 2007). Before these new discoveries, only 22 specimens of the Night Parrot were held in museum collections worldwide (Forshaw et al. 1976). What little is known of the bird has been reviewed by Higgins (1999) and Forshaw and Cooper (2002). Here we describe our observation of Night Parrots in the Pilbara region of Western Australia based on condensed versions of our field notes taken 30 min after the sighting, which occurred during a routine fauna survey. Full details have been lodged with the Birds Australia Rarities Committee (BARC), which accepted the record (BARC case 506; available at http://users.bigpond.net.au/palliser/barc/SUMM506.htm, accessed 1 July 2008). Study area The area of the sighting was Minga Qwirriawirrie Well (hereafter Minga Well, –22°19′20.18″S, 119°16′5.78″E) situated on Mulga Downs pastoral station ~120 km north-west of Newman in the Pilbara region of Western Australia and within the region of previous Night Parrot sightings (Fig. 1). Habitats in the area range from samphire flats surrounding the Fortescue Marsh on the southern boundary (Fig. 2a) to spinifex (Triodia sp.)covered foothills of the Chichester Ranges to the north. Minga Well (Fig. 2b) is located in extensive belts of Mulga (Acacia sp.) woodland vegetation, ~300 m north of the spinifex–chenopod ecotone (Fig. 2c) (Bamford and Metcalf 2005). The area around the well is degraded and open from intense stock pressure. The sighting The Parrots were sighted at Minga Well at dusk (1815 hours) on 12 April 2005 from a distance of 10–12 m. Three Parrots were sighted initially just over 1 m back from the water’s edge, on open ground and within 1–2 m of some Mulga trees. They were © Royal Australasian Ornithologists Union 2008

observed with Swarovski 8 × 30 SLC (R. A. Davis) and Bushnell 10 × 42 (B. M. Metcalf) binoculars for up to ~12 min. Two birds were observed moving towards the water’s edge and then drinking. The third bird was only seen briefly by one of us (R. D.). It did not move with the other birds to the water’s edge and was not resighted. The birds moved towards the water’s edge, each with its body appearing to pivot on its foot. They ran in short waddling bursts. The birds also ran quickly forward in a definite run. Of the two birds seen well, we saw one from almost head on and the other side on. After ~12 min, the two birds flew off, and we heard no vocalizations or noises from their wings. The birds were a dull greenish colour. One bird was noted as being almost yellowish green on the left side of its breast. Also noted on that bird was a distinctly marked blackflecked plumage that gave a streaked appearance to the feathers. Both birds had green plumage with darker speckles running the length of their body. One bird appeared to have a lighter plumage on its cheek, while the other appeared to have the same shade of green across the whole body. They appeared to have no other colours besides the green, yellow and black. Both birds were stout in appearance with short tails and reasonably thickset bodies (~18–25 cm long and ~9 cm deep across the middle of the body). They were dumpier, larger and more squat-looking than Budgerigars (Melopsittacus undulatus). The heads were rounded and ‘bull-headed’. The body was low to the ground such that the legs appeared quite short and the tail still shorter. While drinking, neither bird appeared to lift its head fully. Identification and limitations We recognise that we saw the birds in poor light but were still easily able to discern green as well as yellow and black. We briefly compare other parrots in the area with the birds we saw. Bourke’s Parrot (Neopsephotus bourkii) is not as thickset and its tail is longer than in the birds we saw. The birds we 10.1071/MU07058

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observed were larger than Bourke’s, held their bodies almost horizontal when running and were lower to the ground in general appearance. We saw Bourke’s Parrots several times after this sighting at both dawn and dusk, and on the same evening at the well. Budgerigars have a more markedly tapered body than the birds we saw and relatively longer tails. They tend to drink during the day rather than at dusk, are nearly always present in small to large groups and make much more noise (the birds we observed were silent). We saw no Budgerigars at all during the field trip on which we saw the Night Parrots. Australian Ringnecks (Barnardius zonarius) were uncommon but seen during this trip in pairs or as single individuals throughout the station. Ringnecks are larger than the birds we observed, with a longer tail and characteristic dark heads with unmistakable yellow markings on the nape. They also do not have black streaks on their feathers. Both sexes of Mulga Parrots (Psephotus varius) have different colours in their plumage whereas the birds we observed had the same pattern across the part of their plumage we could see. Again, Mulga Parrots have relatively longer tails than the birds we saw. The Elegant Parrot (Neophema elegans) does not have speckled plumage, and again it has a relatively longer tail and is relatively more slender than the birds we saw.

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Follow-up We made searches at Minga Well and nearby Moojarri Well on the remaining five evenings of the survey period and once at dawn. None were successful. Night watches began at dusk (~1815 hours) and continued until ~2100 hours. As a fourperson team was present, two individuals were present at each of the two wells. One morning watch was also undertaken in the same format, beginning at 0400 hours and ending at dawn (~0600 hours). There were no further sightings. Follow-up trips in 2005 and 2006 were also unsuccessful. Discussion Records of the Night Parrot require a higher level of proof than for most other species (Garnett et al. 1993). We believe that the uniform features that we could discern, of green, yellow and black plumage coupled with the size, shape and proportions of the birds are sufficient to permit identification of the birds as Night Parrots. The sightings reported here occurred during an intense drought. Conditions preceding the observation were hot and dry with only 149.8 mm of rain in the year preceding the sighting. This is less than half of Newman’s average rainfall of 310.2 mm (Fig. 3).

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Fig. 1. Northern Western Australia (inset) showing all known records of Night Parrot (Wilson 1937; Ives 1971; Storr 1980; Blakers et al. 1984; North 1898; Andrew and Eades 1991; Biota 2005; A. Burbidge, Department of Environment and Conservation, unpubl. data; S. Bennett, unpubl. data).

Night Parrot in north-western Australia

The presence of a variety of potential food sources, out-ofseason seeding spinifex and a year-round water supply, combined with a vast area of samphire habitat (the Fortescue Marshes are ~1000 km2 in area) may mean that the area of the sighting is either an important dry-season refuge or permanent

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habitat. It is worth stressing that the birds were clearly drinking from the well. Sunset was at 1753 on the evening of the sighting, with civil twilight at 1815. No data are available for actual twilight times that resulted from the cloud cover. It was a dark evening with the moon at 12% and waxing. The early twilight may have resulted in an earlier departure of the Night Parrots from daytime roosts to the waterhole. Alternatively, it is also possible that this species is crepuscular, and forages more widely at dawn and dusk. The closely related Western Ground Parrot (P. wallicus flaviventris) is not known to drink on a routine basis (A. H. Burbidge, pers. comm.) and Night Parrots may not need to, depending on the water content of their diet. The association of Night Parrots with samphire and chenopods as well as spinifex, is well established (Andrews 1883; McGilp 1931; Cleland 1937; Kershaw 1943; Forshaw 1970; Powell 1970; Parker 1980). The Fortescue Marshes, where our sighting occurred, contain the largest area of inland samphire in the Pilbara and they may be important habitat for this species. The Night Parrots we observed were drinking from the well. Bourgoin (as reported by Wilson 1937) described Night Parrots as always coming in to water after dark and he described the distinctive mournful whistle heard when coming in to water. Interestingly, Bourgoin described how birds usually arrive in pairs, whereas we saw three birds together at first though only two remained drinking for the duration of the observation. In contrast to our observation, however, Bourgoin stated that Night Parrots alight ‘right on the edge of the water, not back like pigeons’. Although the birds we saw landed close to the water’s edge (no more than 1.5 m according to our descriptions above) they still ran forward from there, rather than alighting right on the edge. Our sighting renews hope that a viable population of Night Parrots exists in the Pilbara region of Western Australia. The juxtaposition of freshwater, spinifex and samphire may make the Fortescue Marshes an important habitat for this species either permanently or as a refuge. It is imperative that ongoing

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Month Fig. 2. Area of sighting. (a) The Fortescue Marshes, an extensive samphire community. (b) Minga Well the day after the sighting; note the large concrete tank from which the observation took place; Night Parrots were observed on the opposite bank to the tank, to the left of the three Mulga trees by the water’s edge. (c) Spinifex–samphire ecotone along the marsh edge.

Fig. 3. Precipitation for Newman for the year before the April 2005 sighting (broken line) compared with the 1965–2003 average (unbroken line). Data from the Australian Bureau of Meteorology (see http://www.bom.gov.au/climate, accessed 13 September 2007).

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survey work determine the significance of the Marshes for Night Parrots and that active conservation programs are undertaken to mitigate any threats from feral predators, changes to landscape use and altered fire regimes. Acknowledgements We are very grateful to Piers Higgs (Gaia Resources) for constructing Fig. 1 and to Fortescue Metals Group Ltd, especially Luke Sibon and Dianne Dowdell, for supporting Night Parrot research. John Blyth provided us with much of the early literature and his knowledge and enthusiasm. Mike Bamford provided the initial and subsequent opportunities to find out more about Night Parrots, and encouraged us to write this paper. We are grateful to Allan Burbidge for providing us with references and information and for his constructive comments on an early draft of this manuscript. Leo Joseph, Mike Double, David Watson and two anonymous referees also provided valuable advice on earlier drafts of this manuscript.

References Andrew, D. G., and Eades, D. W. (1991). Twitchers’ corner. Wingspan 1, 13–18. Andrews, F. W. (1883). Notes on the Night Parrot. Transactions and Proceedings of the Royal Society of South Australia 6, 29–30. Bamford, M. J., and Metcalf, B. M. (2005). Management Plan for the Night Parrot Pezoporus occidentalis in the vicinity of the Fortescue Marshes. (Bamford Consulting Ecologists: Perth, WA.) Biota (2005). Fauna habitats and fauna assemblage of the proposed FMG Stage B rail corridor and mine areas. Report to Fortescue Metals Group Ltd, Biota Environmental Sciences, Perth, WA. Blakers, M., Davies, S. J. J. F., and Reilly, P. N. (1984). ‘The Atlas of Australian Birds.’ (Melbourne University Press: Melbourne.) Boles, W. E., Longmore, N. W., and Thompson, M. C. (1994). A recent specimen of the Night Parrot Geopsittacus occidentalis. Emu 94, 37–40. Cleland, J. B. (1937). Ornithology in South Australia. Part 1. Emu 36, 197–221. Forshaw, J. M. (1970). Early record of the Night Parrot in New South Wales. Emu 70, 34.

Forshaw, J. M., and Cooper, W. T. (2002). ‘Australian Parrots.’ 3rd edn. (Alexander Editions: Brisbane.) Forshaw, J. M., Fullagar, P. J., and Harris, J. I. (1976). Specimens of the Night Parrot in museums throughout the world. Emu 76, 120–126. 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. Higgins, P. J. (Ed.) (1999). ‘Handbook of Australian, New Zealand and Antarctic Birds. Vol. 4: Parrots to Dollarbird.’ (Oxford University Press: Melbourne.) Ives, N. L. (1971). Possible nest of Night Parrot in the Pilbara, WA. The Western Australian Naturalist 12, 11–12. Kershaw, J. A. (1943). Concerning a rare parrot. The Victorian Naturalist 59, 196. McGilp, J. N. (1931). Geopsittacus occidentalis, Night Parrot. South Australian Ornithologist 11, 68–70. 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. (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 25, 208–209. Sclater, P. L. (1867). Night Parrot. Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London 1867, 891. Stafford, A. (2007). Night Parrot find suppressed. Wingspan 17, 12–13. Storr, G. M. (1980). Birds of the Kimberley Division of Western Australia. Western Australian Museum Special Publication 11, 54. Wilson, H. (1937). Notes on the Night Parrot, with reference to recent occurrences. Emu 37, 79–87.

Manuscript received 3 October 2007, accepted 4 June 2008

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