From: Oz Sailor-hstakenb@NO SPAM.bigpond.net.au (Oz Sailor)
Newsgroups: alt.binaries.pictures.animals,alt.binaries.pictures.artpics
Subject: Australian Endangered Species - AES_oz_033_night_parrot_-_geopsittacus_occidentalis.jpg
Date: Mon, 23 Oct 2000 07:59:29 GMT

Night Parrot (Pezoporus occidentalis)



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The night parrot (Pezoporus occidentalis), also known as the porcupine parrot, nocturnal ground parakeet, midnight cockatoo, solitaire, spinifex parrot, and night parakeet, is a small, nocturnal, and terrestrial parrot species that is endemic to the continent of Australia. The night parrot is one of the most elusive and mysterious birds in the world, with no confirmed sightings of the bird between 1912 and 1979, leading to speculation that it was extinct. Sightings since 1979 have been extremely rare and the bird’s population size is unknown, though based on the paucity of records it is thought to number between 50 and 249 mature individuals.
Order: Psittaciformes > Family: Psittaculidae > Genus: Pezoporus > Species: Pezoporus occidentalis