Tasman Parakeet

Tasman Parakeet: one of the rarest parrots in the South Pacific

There are only 300-450 Tasman parakeets remaining in the wild. The population only exists at the Mount Pitt section of the Norfolk Island National Park, Australia

About the Species

The Tasman parakeet (Cyanoramphus cookii) is one of the rarest parrot species in the South Pacific (300-450 individuals), restricted to the Mount Pitt section of the Norfolk Island National Park, Australia. Since the 1970’s the conservation of the species has relied on in situ predator control (rats and cats) and safe-nest provisioning. While this approach is effective at protecting adult birds and allows them to reproduce, it is largely unsuccessful at protecting the majority of fledglings and juveniles once they leave the nest. Our field observations from 2013-2017 indicate that yearly recruitment of juveniles is very low, juvenile mortality to predators is very high, and there is a risk of ongoing loss of genetic diversity.

NZ Parrot Trust Support

The NZ Parrot Trust has supplied a grant of $15,000 to a team of researchers from Massey University, headed by Dr. Luis Ortiz-Catedral.

The team will focus on rekindling the nest-intervention program on Norfolk Island and revamping a reintroduction strategy for Tasman parakeets to predator-free Phillip Island by 2020.