Australian Native Parrots

Saving Australia's biodiversity

ILLUMINATED BY A RED spotlight, a pair of small eyes peers down at us from 25m above in an aged and stately red box tree. "Surely that's not a greater glider?" exclaims one of our small party. It's a cold, wet winter's night in Woomargama, in southern NSW, and we're looking for squirrel gliders along a 'green road' - a patch of old-growth woodland - on Bruce Lynch's farm. Our group includes Bruce's son Mark, and Nigel Jones, a conservation manager with the Nature Conservation Trust of NSW (NCT). We're excited; greater gliders are normally found in the high country of Woomargama National Park, several kilometres to the south-east - not down here towards the Hume Highway. The excitement doesn't last long, though; a few camera flashes reveal the eyes belong to a common ringtail possum. We see squirrel gliders the next day, but they have been trapped for an RTA-funded project monitoring highway populations and fitting poles to help the marsupials glide the 70 m needed to cross an otherwise insurmountable road barrier. Bruce and Mark share a passion for squirrel gliders that has brought them closer together. It's also revolutionised the way they manage their 356ha pastoral property, located in the foothills of the Great Dividing Range. Twenty-five kilometres north-west of the Murray River, the farm is near Albury, NSW. A key part of their approach has been to plant silver wattles and other trees that provide important habitat for gliders and threatened species such as migratory swift parrots, known to visit a neighbouring property. Mark lived overseas for five years and found his way from London and Paris to the base camp of Mt Everest. "It wasn't always my plan to come back...;but it had a lot to do with these conservation projects," the 26-year-old tells me. "People ask, 'What difference can it make if you turn off a light switch?'" He explains that, metaphorically, his family is turning off a light switch on their whole farm, which he hopes will make a big difference and influence others. Nearly two-thirds (62 per cent) of the Australian landmass is pastoral or agricultural land. Bringing farmers like Bruce and Mark on board for conservation is a key step in halting biodiversity decline and an important way to link fragmented habitats. Such connections are a major focus of some new conservation approaches.

Birds » Pet birds – Popularity Native Australian birds in the ...

Many popular pet bird species from Australia, most of the known domestic birds are native to this country, but not allof them. Many of the North and South America, Africa and Asia, but the most popular to date and accurate data through in captivity, the Australian species, ranging from small finches, right across the range of large parrots.

A well-known breeds, as budgerigar (I know, like a parrot in some countries), cockatiel, zebra Finch, Lorikeet, and cockatoos are all available worldwide through imports from Australia.

When our ancestors first discovered the Australian continent, they discovered many species of animals that were unique to this part of the globe, such as the now infamous "platypus" and "viper" (egg-laying mammals, how strange that must have been)? marsupials, such as "kangaroo", "Kangaroo", "Koala" and many new and unique species of birds, many of which were brightly painted Vey. So they would like samples of these birds to take home, and thereby increase the love of exotic animals birds accounting.

Starting with the smaller breeds, the Australian finches, which are popular as pets include "gouldian Finch''Star Finch, and well-known and easily available in the Zebra Finch," a low price. However, there are many more.

Small and medium-sized parrots like species in Australia include the most popular small pet bird of all, "budgie" (or "parrot"). Almost as popular "parrot" is also an Australian native, as well as no end of other known poultry. List is almost endless: "Lories" and "lorikeets" (several types of these), parrots, such as "turquoisine", "Burke", "magnificent", "elegant" and "Red-rumped", to name a few, there are loads more . Means "noble parrot" also hails from this part of the world.

"Rosellas" and the average parrot from Australia and around 6 different varieties are used as pets, "Eastern", "North", "West", "crimson", "green" and "light-headed. All are unique and different own way, but are closely related. Rosella known for their amazingly rich color that makes them very desirable pet.

Finally, Big Daddy Australian animals birds, "Kakadu". There are about 20 different species of cockatoos, but not all are popular as pets, and believe it or not the famous "parrot" mentioned earlier, this bird is a member of the family, but certainly nowhere near as big as some of his cousins cockatoo.

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