By Thuy Ong
SYDNEY, July 5 (Reuters) - A
nocturnal Australian parrot that hops like a kangaroo and had not been
seen alive for more than a century has not only been seen but has been
photographed, a naturalist said on Friday, but he is keeping the
whereabouts a secret.
Scientists had previously
based their knowledge of the critically endangered Night Parrot, a
ground-dwelling bird, on the occasional dead specimen and recordings of
its call - which is rare enough.
"I've only
heard them in one place and I've been in a hundred places," said John
Young, a naturalist and documentary film maker who has consulted with
Australian wildlife services.
"The strangest thing about this parrot, living on the ground, it hops like a little kangaroo."
Young's
alleged sighting on May 25 in the northern state of Queensland was the
culmination of a 15-year quest. He told Reuters that he lured the shy,
palm-sized bird out with a recorded parrot call.
"I couldn't get over it," he said.
The
Night Parrot is small with yellowish green plumage, mottled with brown
and black specks. It hides in spinefex grass during the day and is
active at night.
In 2012, the International Union
for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) listed the bird as critically
endangered, its population depleted by feral cats, foxes and changes in
the environment after European settlement in Australia.
With no firm estimates about how many of the birds exist in the wild, Young refused to reveal where he found the parrot.
"I
think the worst thing we can do at the moment is to let too many
people anywhere near it," said Young. "In the time I had with the bird
the other night, it is the most sensitive bird I have ever seen."
Leo Joseph, the director and research leader of the wildlife collection at government research body CSIRO, supported Young.
"The
sooner we can learn how to look for them and find them elsewhere the
better," Joseph told Reuters. "For now, keeping the locality a secret
is the way to go." (Reporting by Thuy Ong; Editing by Elaine Lies)
Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/07/05/night-parrot-australia_n_3548811.html?ir=Green
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