Potential threats and habitat of the night parrot on the Ngururrpa Indigenous Protected Area

Abstract

Context The Endangered night parrot (Pezoporus occidentalis) is one of the rarest birds in Australia, with fewer than 20 known to occur in Queensland and, prior to 2020, only occasional detections from a handful of sites in Western Australia (WA). Here, we provide an introduction to night parrots on the Ngururrpa Indigenous Protected Area (IPA) in WA from the perspectives of both Indigenous rangers and scientists working together to understand their ecology. Aims We aimed to identify night parrot sites on the Ngururrpa IPA, compare habitat and likely threats with those in Queensland and identify appropriate management practices. Methods Between 2020 and 2023, we used songmeters (a type of acoustic recorder) to survey for the presence of night parrots at 31 sites (>2 km apart). At sites where parrots were detected, we used camera-traps to survey predators and collected predator scats for dietary analysis. Forty years of Landsat images were examined to assess the threat of fire to roosting habitat. Key results Night parrots were detected at 17 of the 31 sites surveyed on the Ngururrpa IPA. Positive detections were within an area that spanned 160 km from north to south and 90 km from east to west. Ten roosting areas were identified, and these occurred in habitat supporting the same species of spinifex (lanu lanu or bull spinifex, Triodia longiceps) used for roosting in Queensland. However, the surrounding landscapes differ in their vegetation types and inherent flammability, indicating that fire is likely to be a more significant threat to night parrots in the Great Sandy Desert than in Queensland. Dingoes (Canis dingo) were the predator species detected most frequently in night parrot roosting habitat and the feral cat was found to be a staple prey for dingoes at night parrot sites. Conclusions Our surveys indicated that there could be at least 50 night parrots on the Ngururrpa IPA, which is the largest known population in the world. Fire is a key threat to roosting habitat, occurring in the surrounding sandplain country every 6–10 years. Dingoes are common in night parrot habitat and regularly eat feral cats, which are only occasionally detected in roosting habitat. Implications We recommend management that focuses on strategic burning to reduce fuel loads in the surrounding landscape, and limiting predator control to methods that do not harm dingoes.