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Pezoporus occidentalis
– Critically Endangered
Taxonomy
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Kingdom:
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ANIMALIA
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Phylum:
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CHORDATA
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Class:
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AVES
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Order:
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PSITTACIFORMES
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Family:
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PSITTACIDAE
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Scientific Name:
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Pezoporus occidentalis
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Species Authority:
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Gould, 1861
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Synonym/s:
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Geopsittacus occidentalis Gould, 1861
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Common Name/s:
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| English | — | NIGHT PARROT |
| French | — | PERRUCHE NOCTURNE |
| Spanish | — | LORO NOCTURNO, PERICO NOCTURNO |
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Assessment Information
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Red List Category & Criteria:
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CR D ver 3.1 (2001)
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Year Assessed:
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2007
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Assessor/s:
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BirdLife International
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Evaluator/s:
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Bird, J. & Butchart, S. (BirdLife International Red List Authority)
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Justification:
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After no confirmed records since 1990, despite several dedicated searches and publicity campaigns, this species was rediscovered in 2005 in the Pilbara region of Western Australia. It may occur at low density elsewhere in its former range, because it is easily overlooked. It is likely to have declined as a result of a number of threats, and the remaining population may be tiny. For these reasons it is treated as Critically Endangered.
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History:
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| 1988 | - | Threatened (Collar and Andrew 1988) |
| 1994 | - | Critically Endangered (Collar, Crosby and Stattersfield 1994) |
| 2000 | - | Critically Endangered (BirdLife International 2000) |
| 2004 | - | Critically Endangered (BirdLife International 2004) |
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Geographic Range
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Range Description:
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Pezoporus occidentalis is endemic to Australia, where historical records are spread throughout the arid and semi-arid zones. However, there have been few records since the 1880s. At least five dedicated searches and two broad-scale publicity campaigns in the 1990s failed to confirm the existence of any population, with only one authenticated record from near Boulia, north-western Queensland, in 1990. However, three birds were reported at Minga Qwirriawirrie Well near the Fortescue Marshes in the Pilbara region of Western Australia in April 2005. Subsequent searches in 2005 and 2006 have failed to relocate the species, but this may have been because there had been recent rain, and so birds were not concentrating at the waterhole1. A dead bird was found by Queensland Park and Wildlife Service Rangers in Diamantina National Park, Queensland in November 2006 having apparently collided with a fence some weeks before2. It was positively identified by Queensland Museum. Flood rains in the Channel Country have prevented access to the area for follow-up surveys2. It seems quite likely that this cryptic species occurs at a low density elsewhere in its former range as there have been unverified sight records from inland regions of all mainland states and the Northern Territory. However, given the decline in reporting since the 1880s, there has almost certainly been a decline in abundance.
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Countries:
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Native:
Australia
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Population
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Population Trend:
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Habitat and Ecology
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Habitat and Ecology:
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Most specimens have been obtained from hummock grasslands Triodia-Plechtrachne or chenopod shrublands. However, the most recent specimen and associated reports were in Mitchell grassland Astrebla spp. with scattered chenopods. It may persist in chenopod shrublands during dry years, moving into grassland after there is sufficient rain to set seed. The recent 2005 record involved birds drinking at a water hole which may have been drawn from their typical habitat to drink1. It has been suggested that the species has a similar metabolism to rodents as it is active at night. This behaviour may help it retain water, most of which is obtained through its diet. Therefore, drinking may only occur in dry circumstances making the species difficult to locate in wet years1.
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System:
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Terrestrial
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List of Habitats:
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| 3.5 | Shrubland - Subtropical/Tropical Dry |
| 4.5 | Grassland - Subtropical/Tropical Dry |
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Threats
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Threats:
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Threats are extrapolated from their presumed effects on medium-sized, arid-zone mammals, and include predation by feral cats and foxes, altered fire regimes, competition for food, degradation of habitat near water by stock or rabbits, and reduced availability of water as a result of over-use by feral camels. One early account suggests the decline at Innaminka and Alice Springs coincided with the arrival of feral cats.
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List of Threats:
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| 1.1.4.3 | Habitat Loss/Degradation - Agriculture - Livestock - Agro-industry (ongoing) |
| 1.2.2 | Habitat Loss/Degradation - Land management of non-agricultural areas - Change of management regime (ongoing) |
| 1.5 | Habitat Loss/Degradation - Invasive alien species (timing unknown) |
| 2.1 | Invasive alien species (directly affecting the species) - Competitors (ongoing) |
| 2.2 | Invasive alien species (directly affecting the species) - Predators (timing unknown) |
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Conservation Actions
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Conservation Actions:
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Conservation measures underway:
CITES Appendix I. Numerous searches have been carried out in an attempt to find birds. Appeals for information leading to the rediscovery of the species have received much publicity in arid Australia, especially in the Northern Territory and Western Australia.
Conservation measures proposed:
Develop alternative detection techniques, particularly the use of a national team of dogs. Develop captive-breeding and release techniques using Pezoporus w. wallicus. Encourage individuals or voluntary organisations to follow up any plausible reports providing appropriate logistic support. Develop a contingency plan for any site where birds are found, including a strategy for handling publicity, initiation of ecological studies, capture of birds to establish captive population, and initiation of fire management and predator control.
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List of Conservation Actions:
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| 1.1.1 | Policy-based actions - Management plans - Development (needed) |
| 3.2 | Research actions - Population numbers and range (needed) |
| 3.3 | Research actions - Biology and Ecology (needed) |
| 3.8 | Research actions - Conservation measures (needed) |
| 3.10 | Research actions - Other (needed) |
| 5.7.1 | Species-based actions - Ex situ conservation actions - Captive breeding/Artificial propagation (needed) |
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Bibliography
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Bibliography:
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Baillie, J. and Groombridge, B. (compilers and editors) 1996. 1996 IUCN Red List of Threatened Animals. IUCN, Gland, Switzerland. Bird Reference Citations. The numbers inserted in the text accounts above (usually in bold) refer to references. For further details on these references, click on the BirdLife International link above to go to the specific species account on the BirdLife web site. In some cases, particularly in the taxonomic notes, the references are cited using the author names. Details for these can be found on the BirdLife International web site at the following two places:
For References from A–L.
For References from M–Z. BirdLife International. 2000. Threatened Birds of the World. Lynx Edicions and BirdLife International, Barcelona, Spain and Cambridge, U.K. BirdLife International. 2004 Threatened Birds of the World 2004. CD-ROM. BirdLife International, Cambridge, U.K. Collar, N.J. and Andrew, P. 1988. Birds to Watch. The ICBP World Checklist of Threatened Birds. ICBP Technical Publication No. 8. Page Bros. (Norwich) Ltd, Norfolk, England. Collar, N.J., Crosby, M.J. and Stattersfield, A.J. 1994. Birds to Watch 2. The World List of Threatened Birds BirdLife International. Page Bros (Norwich) Ltd, U.K. IUCN Conservation Monitoring Centre. 1986. 1986 IUCN Red List of Threatened Animals. IUCN, Gland, Switzerland and Cambridge, UK. IUCN. 1990. 1990 IUCN Red List of Threatened Animals. IUCN, Gland, Switzerland and Cambridge, UK. Scott, P. (ed.) 1965. Section XIII. Preliminary List of Rare Mammals and Birds. In: The Launching of a New Ark, pp. 15–207. First Report of the President and Trustees of the World Wildlife Fund. An International Foundation for saving the world's wildlife and wild places 1961–1964. Collins, London.
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