Rare night parrot photographed by Aus naturalist

An Australian bird enthusiast has photographed a live night parrot, providing the first pictures of the endangered bird in more than 100 years.
Queensland naturalist John Young, who runs a wildlife guide business, showed pictures and videos of the bird at the Queensland Museum yesterday, saying he would keep the identity of their location secret to protect them.
The Night Parrot (Pezoporus occidentalis) is a small yellowish-green parrot endemic to the continent of Australia.
It is known as one of the most elusive and mysterious birds in the world, with no known sightings between 1912 and 1979, leading to speculation that it was extinct. Sightings since 1979 have been extremely rare.

Young told the audience that he was seeking funds from the private sector to begin research on the birds - the holy grail of bird watchers, 'The Courier Mail' reported.
Australian National Wildlife Collection director Leo Joseph from the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) said he had no doubt that Young's pictures were genuine.

"There's been a lot of sightings over the years but John's had the persistence to crack the nut," he said.
""My instincts tell me we should be out there now gathering biological data," he added.
Australia's Environment Department threatened species unit acting director Paula Peeters said an officer was at Young's talk but the department had been given no details of where the bird was photographed and would not consider any measures for better protecting the species or its habitat until information was provided.

Peeters said Young's images appeared credible but would need to be verified by ornithological experts.
Young said his greatest concern was that feral cats would wipe out the parrots.