Western Ground Parrot

The Western Ground Parrot (Pezoporus flaviventris) is an endangered species of parrot endemic to Western Australia and is a close relative of the Eastern Ground Parrot (P. wallicus) and the somewhat more distantly related and mysterious Night Parrot (Pezoporus occidentalis).  It is one of the world’s rarest birds with about 110 individuals remaining so it won’t be easy to see them in the wild.  Not only are they rare, they are extremely well camouflaged.

The nearest international airport is Perth in Western Australia and you can get there with frequent flier miles if you plan well in advance.  From Perth, you need to hire a car and get to one of the two habitats left to these extremely rare parrots – Fitzgerald River or Cape Arid National Parks.

Western Ground Parrot Habitat

This blog has a very interesting account of a survey group who were lucky enough to see them.  You can also find more information on the World Parrot Trust website and Birdlife Australia.  You can also follow them on Facebook and read the Friends of the Western Ground Parrot for the most up-to-date information.

This is a great video about Western Ground Parrots.  Embedding has been disabled so you have to view it on YouTube.  And this other video features a Western Ground Parrot up close and personal.