Vik's Gallery:   Ground Parrot (1/3)

PSITTACIFORMES: Psittacidae

Pezoporus wallicus  

Views of Ground Parrots seldom last long. There are reports, I know because I've read some of them, by people claiming to have watched Ground Parrots for ten minutes, or six hours. or some equally improbable period of time, but they're making it up.

What actually happens is you spend several hours stalking around known habitat and once, if you're lucky, or twice if you're having a really good day, a parrot will suddenly flush from the vegetation some metres distant and hurtle away weaving left and right above the heath before passing out of sight or dropping back into the long grass hundreds of metres away.

To be ready to get any sort of photograph under these conditions I recommend a good dose of strong coffee before you start, or some other (preferably legal) stimulant to assist with reaction times.

If you do manage to find a Ground Parrot which just sits quietly waiting for you to photograph it, well done, but don't tell me because I won't believe you.