Abstract
Reference to Australia as · 'The Land of Parrots" is made repeatedly, and with approximately one-sixth of the world's species occurring there the reference would seem to be well founded. Since the time of European settlement, scientists and observers have been fascinated by Australian parrots, and in 1865 John Gould wrote:
"No group of birds gives to Australia so tropical and foreign an air as the numerous species of this great family by which it is tenanted, each and all of which are individually very abundant'.'
Some 12 5 years later, it is important that current appropriateness of this comment be assessed, particularly in the light of what has occurred with the status of some species. Also, it is timely that comparisons be made with other parts of the world, where parrots are prevalent, especially South America, to ascertain whether the birds are responding similarly or in different ways to environmental changes.
Overall, Australia still qualifies as the "Land of Parrots;' and it continues to be tenanted by "numerous species of this great family:' From monsoon forests of the tropical north to open, sandy deserts of the interior and bleak, windswept heathlands of southernmost latitudes, all parts of the continent are inhabited by parrots, and in many regions the brightly-plumaged, noisy birds can be one of the most conspicuous elements of the avifauna. This "conspicuousness" of parrots is one aspect that always impresses visiting fieldworkers, and certainly is a phenomenon that I have not experienced so readily when in the field in other countries where parrots occur. Last year, when on his first visit to Australia, Robert Ridgely commented to me: "This is the place to come for parrots - they are so easy to see!"
It is worthwhile pausing for a moment to examine more closely the ubiquitous occurrence of parrots within Australia, and if the birds are more conspicuous in Australia than in other parts of their world range - why would that be so?
I have seen parrots in all major parts of their world range, though, of course, my personal experiences with them are far more extensive in Australia than elsewhere and this bias could be reflected in the point I am making.
Parrots can be extremely difficult to Locate in dense, tropical rainforest. I always think of looking for them as being akin to ocean fishing - they are there, but an awful lot of habitat is present with them! Often the only sighting will be a brief glimpse of swiftly-flying flocks darting across a break in the canopy, with the screeching call-notes attracting attention. In the neotropics, New Guinea and Southeast Asia, I have experienced the frustrations of seeking parrots in rainforests, but in Australia we have only four species dependent on rainforest, and those are species that we share with New Guinea. Other species regularly occur in rainforest, but are not dependent on it, and readily are found in more open habitats. The vast majority of Australian parrots frequent open woodland and dry scrublands where, for the most part, detection is not so difficult.
It is true that in other countries parrots occur in open habitats, but my experience has been that these parrots are not generally abundant, and this is particularly evident in Africa, where parrots are locally dispersed and generally uncommon. In South America, away from forested areas, I found them to be sporadically distributed and uneven in levels of abundance. The situation in Africa is especially intriguing, and frequently the question is posed: "Why are there so few parrots in Africa?" I have not seen a satisfactory answer, but some comparisons with the Australian situation struck me forcefully. In Africa, I found other bird groups, notably touracos, pigeons and doves, and grassfinches occupying niches that in Australia are widely utilized by parrots. We have relatively few species of grassfinches, and their distribution is concentrated primarily in the north, while Columbiformes also is poorly represented in Australia. Perhaps competition has been significant in determining the relative roles of parrots in Australia and Africa - they succeeded in the former, but lost out in the latter! I am not sufficiently familiar with the situation in the neotropics, but would make the observation that Forpus and Bolborhynchus species, which are adapted to grassseed feeding in open country, are nowhere near as widespread or abundant as are grass-seed feeding parrots in Australia.