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Bourke's ParrotAlternative names: "Bourke's Grass-parrot", "Pink-bellied Parrot", "Night Parrot*" Size: 19-22 cm Weight: 45 g (average) |
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Taxonomy, classification |
See Bourke's Parrot
at Wikipedia 
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Range, habitat |
(for details refer to a field guide) |
Bourke's Parrots are endemic to Australia. They are found basically in three patches, in the interior of the Australian continent. One is in the north-west of WA, but off the coast, from about the geographic latitude of Geraldton to Exmouth. The second patch is along the NT/SA border, as wide as the NT in east-west direction. It includes Lake Eyre as its southernmost part. The third patch the catchment of the Paroo River and of the upper Darling River, from the SA border with QLD and NSW to the east, a near-circular area with a diameter of a few hundred km with its centre near Wanaaring, NSW, with Broken Hill, NSW, on its south-western boundary.
Bourke's Parrots are usually found in mulga-dominated dry scrub in semi-arid to arid habitats.
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Sightings |
We are not completely sure whether the parrot displayed below is an juvenile Bourke's Parrot. There are some arguments in favour of this, although the bird was observed at least 200 km outside the normal range of Bourke's Parrot: The blueish front edge to the wings that we do not find in female Red-rumped Parrots and the generally more greyish appearance of this parrot compared to female Red-rumped Parrots. Also the behaviour of this bird was distinct: It remained very quiet while we approached it in plain view, at a distance of less than 10 metres (whereas Red-rumped Parrots take flight). This bird was on its own, possibly a juvenile.
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Photos |
Bourke's Parrot(?) sitting quietly for half an hour in a White Cedar tree 20 km south of Narrabri, NSW, in 2005
