Australia's
most elusive bird, the Night Parrot, may not be much better at seeing in the
dark than other parrots active during the day
Date:
June 9, 2020
Source:
Flinders University
Australia's
most elusive bird, the Night Parrot, may not be much better at seeing in the
dark than other parrots active during the day.
An
international study, co-led by Flinders University's Dr Vera Weisbecker, has
revealed the critically endangered parrot's visual system is not as
well-adapted to life in the dark as would be expected for a nocturnal bird,
raising concerns it might be adversely impacted by fencing in the Australian
outback.
"Night
Parrots must be able to find their way at night -- to find food, avoid
obstacles while flying, and escape predators," says Dr Weisbecker.
"We
therefore expect their visual system to show adaptations for seeing in the
dark, similar to other nocturnal birds -- New Zealand's Kakapo parrot and owls
with enlarged eyes for example. However, we found that this wasn't the
case."
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