Peter and others,
The photos are very interesting. The bird reminds me of the kakapo, a groun=
d dwelling parrot of New Zealand that is also nocturnal. From the general a=
ppearance, I might ask whether it is a mutation of the kakapo species that =
adapted the arid conditions in Australia, whereas the birds in New Zealand =
may have had a more lush environment.
Just some thoughts from a parrot enthusiast, who does language study with a=
South American species.
Mike
Florida
www.ParrotSpeech.com
=A0
2
Night Parrot recording(s?)
Wed Jul=A03,=A02013 7:33=A0pm (PDT) . Posted by:
"Peter Shute" pshute2
It might be of interest to some here, if you haven't heard already, that an=
Australian birder has recently obtained photos and video of a Night Parrot=
, the first ever, apparently by using playback of a recording he'd made a f=
ew years earlier. The photos and videos were shown to an audience in Brisba=
ne yesterday, but the recording, also the first ever, wasn't played.
Given that this species, seen only a few times since its discovery in the 1=
800s, is nocturnal and spends most of its time at ground level in thick spi=
nifex grass in remote parts of Australia, it would seem that knowing what i=
t sounds like is essential to determining its range and how many there are.=
All we've had until now are the call's description from a century ago: a l=
ow, drawn out, double noted whistle.
It's not yet clear how good the recording is. According to this interview, =
it was made at a distance of 1.5km:
http://www.abc. net.au/radionati onal/programs/ breakfast/ rare-night- parr=
ot-found- in-western- australia/ 4795592
and it's also not clear whether more recordings were made during the encoun=
ter. Hopefully they were.
A bit more information here:
http://www.australi angeographic. com.au/journal/ mysterious- night-parrot-=
caught-on- film.htm
and here:
http://www.abc. net.au/news/ 2013-07-03/ man-claims- to-have-filmed- the-ra=
re- australian- night-parrot/ 4796342
Peter Shute
|