The ‘fat budgie’ was presumed extinct with no live sightings since 1922. But, but, but …, in May 2013, bird guide John Young, after 17,000 hours of searching, found night parrots in the Diamantina region south-west Queensland. He knew to look there as two dead specimens had been found in the region, one in 1996 and another in 2003.
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.
John Huxley Brisbane Times June 23, 2007 “There’s no doubt the bird is out there” … Leo Joseph, of the Australian National Wildlife Collection in Canberra. Photo: Glen Mccurtayne THE …
Bob Gosford Crikey Jun 09, 2010 Over the weekend Birding-Aus, the Australian birding site for twitchers with attitude – posted a report of a recent sighting of the Night Parrot …