Paradise parrot

Educational value

• The paradise parrot was a native Australian bird, last seen in 1927 and now believed extinct. Although already considered rare by the end of the 19th century, the paradise parrot was distributed from southern central Queensland to south-east Queensland and northern New South Wales. Numbers continued to decline rapidly before the species finally disappeared in the 1920s. This parrot is the only bird species to become extinct on the Australian mainland since British settlement, although in May 2007 there were 108 native Australian birds listed as endangered or vulnerable by the Australian Government.
• The paradise parrot was an exceptionally colourful, medium-sized parrot that lived in open grassy woodlands. Its plumage included a mixture of turquoise, aqua, red, black, brown, yellow and green. Like most birds there were some colour differences between the males and females. This species was about 27-30 cm long, including the long tail and slender body.
• Paradise parrots spent much time on or near the ground feeding on native grass seeds. It is believed they lived in pairs or small family groups and mostly used hollows drilled into terrestrial termite mounds for nests. They laid an average of three eggs in a nesting chamber that was at the end of a tunnel 20-30-cm long. Breeding took place between August and April.
• There are several possible reasons to explain the extinction of the paradise parrot, mostly relating to changes brought about by European settlement. These reasons include land clearing, overgrazing of sheep and cattle, changes to burning patterns, hunting by bird collectors, a series of devastating droughts, and the introduction of non-native species such as prickly pear and cats. These factors reduced the availability of the native grasses these birds fed upon, contributed to the destruction of their habitats and increased their predation.

Year level

F; 1; 2; 3; 4; 5; 6; 7; 8; 9; 10; 11; 12

Topics Parrots Extinction