Western Ground Parrot Project

Very  few photos of the Western Ground Parrot  (WGP) exist. This photo shows one of only three adult WGPs captured in spring 1988 during the only radio-tracking project ever undertaken on WGPs, and was taken by Kaye Vaux, a volunteer. Listen to the calls of two birds, recorded in Fitzgerald River National Park in 2004 by Abby Berryman.

How rare is the Western Ground Parrot?

The Western Ground Parrot (WGP) is fourth on the list of the rare parrots of mainland Australia.  It is Western Australia's most endangered endemic parrot. Although the Night Parrot has been recorded from Western Australia, it was not restricted to WA.

Australian Mainland's Most Endangered Parrots

The Night Parrot is both extremely scarce and elusive. Most records were prior to 1880. A dead bird was found in western Queensland in 1990. The primary recovery action of the recovery plan written during the 1990s has not been accomplished.  It is 'Locate Night Parrots'.

So by comparison the situation for Western Ground Parrots is not quite so grim. They are more sedentary and a little more numerous.  It is not too late for focussed Recovery Actions to be set in motion.

Evidence of Decline in Western Australia
The range of the WGP has greatly diminished in WA since European settlement. They used to occur along the coastal plan as far north as Dongara but were gone before the 1900s.  Prior to 1914, early settlers around Denmark had noted their decline there (Whitlock 1914). Now the birds occur only east of Albany.

One clue as to the previous distribution is that there are several aboriginal names for the birds. These were published by Serventy and Whittell in 1948. Early bird enthusiasts were helped a great deal by the aboriginals and recorded the bird names that they used.

So there is a different name for the Western Ground Parrot for north of Perth, in Perth, south of Perth and in Albany.

Drawing by David McFarland

Western Ground Parrot's Family

The closest relative that is not a Ground Parrot is the Night Parrot, which is now classified as of the same genus as the Ground Parrot (Pezoporus).  They are different species.  There are three subspecies of Ground Parrot :

• The Tasmanian Ground Parrot is least endangered, and is most common in south west Tasmania

• The Eastern Ground Parrot occurs in fragmented populations near the coast in southern Queensland, NSW and Victoria and is considered vulnerable.  There are estimated to be 4000 breeding birds.  It has become extinct in South Australia

• The Western Ground Parrot

The New Zealand Kakapo looks rather like a giant Ground Parrot.  The Ground Parrot is less closely related to the Kakapo than to the Budgerigar and to parrots of the genus Neophema such as the Orange-bellied Parrot and the Elegant Parrot. (Christidis and Boles 1994)

References
Christidis, L. and Boles, W.E. (1994) The taxonomy and species of birds of Australia and its territories. RAOU Monograph 2. Victoria.
Garnett, S.T. and Crowley, G.M. (2000) The action plan for Australian Birds. Environment Australia, Canberra.
Serventy, D.L. and Whittell, H.M. (1967) Birds of Western Australia (fourth edition). Perth.
Whitlock, F.L. (1914) Notes on the Spotless Crake and the Western Ground Parrot. Emu 13: 202-5.

What is unusual about Ground Parrots?

•  They can fly well but typically do so only twice a day, at dawn and dusk
•  They feed, roost, and nest on the ground

They are very secretive.  In the day time, they feed amongst dense plant cover.  They call and fly when the light is low before sunrise and 30 to 60 minutes after sunset (the stars are out!).  When flushed, they fly low over the vegetation then land back on the ground.

How do Western Ground Parrots differ from Eastern Ground Parrots (EGPs)?

• Plumage: WGPs have a more yellowish tinge to the green parts, and yellower underparts

• Call: WGPs appear to use at least one distinctive call that is not used by EGPs

Not enough is known about WGPs to fully compare the subspecies.

How Big Is A Western Ground Parrot?

Three WGPs were captured in 1988.  They weighed 106 grams on average.  For comparison, a Cockatiel weighs about 90 grams.

How To Identify A Western Ground Parrot?

How do you know that you have seen a Western Ground Parrot? Work through the key below. More than one 'yes' is needed.

HISTORICAL STUDY
Much can be learnt from radio-tracking. Only once has there been a project that involved radio-tracking Western Ground Parrots. The following is extracted from the unpublished 'Final Report to the World Wildlife Fund (Australia)'.

Project 118: Conservation of the Ground Parrot in Western Australia. May 1989.
Project originator: Dr Allan H. Burbidge.
Project Investigators: Dr Allan H. Burbidge, Doug Watkins, Shapelle McNee.

The study area was the Short Road area which was being incorporated into Fitzgerald River National Park at the time. The time was spring 1988. References to tables and figures are omitted.

Radio-tracking
Ten young birds and three adults were fitted with transmitters. However, major problems were experienced with the transmitters falling off Ground Parrots. On eight occasions, data collection was terminated by the Ground Parrot dislodging the transmitter. On several occasions the position of the transmitter when it was recovered indicated that it had fallen from the bird during flight. Attachment failure did enable the transmitters to be re-used. With the remainder of the transmitters, two failures were attributed to transmitter failure, and the fate of the other three was not known.

The tracking yielded 64 bird days of data (13% from adults and 87% from young birds) and 161 tracking points.

Tracking data indicated that individual birds moved over an area of heath at least several hectares in extent. Bird number 210 used an area of approximately 40 ha in total extent. Several young birds moved up to three kilometers from their capture point.

Ground parrots become active between 60 minutes and 45 minutes before sunrise. There may be some calling and a flight to the area where the bird will forage during the day. A flight was recorded on 77% of the mornings with a mean distance of approximately 750 metres. On some occasions, this flight was made in two sections.

Early to late morning was apparently spent in active foraging. Data collected in the mornings showed that birds walked about 25 metres per hour during this period. From late morning until late afternoon the birds tended to seek the shade of dense shrubs where they were apparently resting. On four occasions Ground Parrots were flushed from these positions. Radio-tracking data collected between 1030 and 1600 hours showed movements of only 12 metres per hour. In the late afternoon activity increased and the birds walked an average of 27 metres per hour.

Radio-tracking of young birds showed them to fly on 77% of evenings with an average distance of 420 metres. One young bird consistently roosted 200 metres from its foraging area, but the one adult for which sufficient information was collected did not fly on any of the four evenings it was tracked.

Two birds roosted in a similar area each night but the data were too limited on other birds to assess whether this was a regular occurrence. There were several records of two birds roosting together, one record of three, and two records of at least four birds. No birds were recorded moving or calling between one hour after sunset to one hour before sunrise.

Four Ground Parrots were known to have moved away from the main study area during the course of the study. The maximum distance moved by each of these birds from the capture point was 2.9 km, 2.9 km, 2.3 km and 1.8 km.