Princess found in the desert

[Mortisha]

Good news story!

But one of Australia's rarest birds, the princess parrot, has been sighted in among the spinifex on Newhaven Reserve, about 500 kilometres north west of Alice Springs in the Northern Territory

http://www.abc.net.au/rural/content/2012/s3507009.htm

[jusdeb]

Why aren't they whacking them on the threatened species list then ? I didn't know they were so rare .....above one of my normals yes normals ...no splits ...normals

[natamambo]

Deb, they're one of those birds that are "rare" coz there's only a small number covering a huge area of Oz.

That's a beautiful bird, I'll get one of the young in a year or two when I get "the country block" and have space for parrots again (better still an unrelated pure pair if you can supply birds as good as that one ).

[jusdeb]

Still sourcing another pure pair ..Bloody hard . If I ever do Id be happy to set you up with a pair .

Id love to see them flying wild , such beautiful birds .

[mickw]

Saw that....pity they didnt make the connection with their status in captivity...but thats the disconnect that lives large between Ornithology and Aviculture..

As Natamambo said Deb, a very widely distributed bird at very low population density.....reading the literature, its been like that since Gould was a boy!.........I think you'll find that their huge numbers in captivity, combined with not really extending into NSW is the reason why they're not listed as permit birds in NSW legislation........Its probably different in the States they inhabit

As an aside, Scarlet Chesteds are somewhat similar.....turn up, unanounced, and for no apparent reason, then rack off for decades.........pretty easy to go unnoticed in a very sparsely populated (humans, that is) part of Oz.......Budgies do it too.....I read something recently written by Peter Oderkerken about huge flocks west of the divide somewhere....??....Even caught the attention of the David Attenborough Corporation............Damn red wine

[jusdeb]

Normal Prinnies are rare in captivity too , another bird mutated beyond belief and WHY how can you improve on the pinks, blues and greens on these birds

[natamambo]

Normal Prinnies are rare in captivity too , another bird mutated beyond belief and WHY how can you improve on the pinks, blues and greens on these birds

[Nrg800]

If anyone happens to be in the area:

Wed 9 Princess Parrot Newhaven
The desert is looking good after all the rain, and a few days ago, Danae, AWC manager at Newhaven, found a mob of Princess Parrots at Newhaven. They seem to be hanging around and we've seen up to 50 birds at a time. The birds have been seen for four days in a row at the same site. If anyone is interested in seeing these stunning birds, Joe and Danae ask that you phone Newhaven (08 8964 6000) before your visit and we can assist in taking visitors to the site. Newhaven has great camping with hot showers and composting toilets and good bore water. We will be staying staying to assist visitors and to study the parrots.
Per Peter Struik and Toni Marsh 9/5 #130408

42 were seen there on Sunday.

http://www.eremaea.com/BirdlineRecentSi ... Birdline=4

[desertbirds]

Trying hard to wangle some pics,see what i can do. Rare birds indeed but who would know whats out there and they were around in 2010, about the same distance from town but south of the current sighting.

[finchbreeder]

The advantages of a big country. Lots of space to vanish into. And put the humans off the scents.
LML