The ‘fat budgie’ was presumed extinct with no live sightings since 1922. But, but, but … , in May 2013, bird guide John Young, after a claimed 17,000 hours of searching, found night parrots in the Diamantina of south-west Queensland. He knew where to look as two dead specimens had been found in the region, one in 1996 and another in 2003, and almost more importantly, he worked out how to look. Since then, there are more sightings and much interest, and possibly skullduggery, in this enigmatic bird. In Night Parrot, Penny Olsen has written the most comprehensive book to date on the ‘fat budgie’.
Night parrot research labelled ‘fake news’ by experts after release of damning report ABC’s Background Briefing Exclusive by Ann Jones, Benjamin Sveen, and David Lewis PHOTO: John Young’s photo of a night parrot in …
The night parrot: A mystery as old as our country ABC Science By Ann Jones for The Chase PHOTO: The moon hangs above the Birriliburu protected area in remote Western Australia.(ABC Science: Ann Jones) …
John Young brought home the holy grail of Australian bird-watching – he found night parrots. But then the story gets murky. Penny Olsen’s book Nigh Parrot gives the detail that the keenest of birders want, the story behind every sighting ever made right up to today’s conservation efforts for the known populations and the work underway to establish if there are more. This Audubon Society magazine article gives the summary that almost every other birder wants. Why does it have to be this way? As the poet James Elroy Flecker observed, ‘men are unwise and curiously planned’.
Night parrot stories is a film (see it on SBS at 8.30 pm on Christmas Eve, 2017) , a Facebook page and treasure troves of tales in the minds of many birders in this wide brown land. Both adjectives apply, as the distribution of these birds has opened up considerably since their rediscovery in the Diamantina and where they are found is typically very very brown.
The bird world was agog in 2013 when details of the rediscovery, in the Diamantina, of the night parrot emerged. Since there the population number and range has extended. Those good years across the centre within the last decade have helped, the spread of feral cats hasn’t. Some serious conservation is now going on to secure the species.
Loudmouths fall under the spell of the Night parrot. This was just Search the First! And we reckon we’re on the right track and we’re having fun while searching.
You’re a Night parrot? I’m from the government and I’m here to help you. This is the official statement regarding this most elusive of species.
Night parrot dreaming says it all – many a birdo has dreamt of finding a night parrot. Many have tried but none succeeded until John Yound found some in May 2013. This article by Simon Mustoe was written the year earlier.
Night parrots have been in people’s imagination for a long time. This article is from the S A Ornithologist and was printed only a decade or so after the last authenticated sighting of the ‘fat budgie’.
Since their recent rediscovery, night parrots are turning up in a range of locations. Are we seeing the legacy of a number of wet years across the centre? This ABC article suggests a South Australia population.