Justification This species has an extremely large range, and hence does not approach the thresholds for Vulnerable under the range size criterion (Extent of Occurrence <20,000 km2 combined with a declining or fluctuating range size, habitat extent/quality, or population size and a small number of locations or severe fragmentation). The population trend appears to be fluctuating, and hence the species does not approach the thresholds for Vulnerable under the population trend criterion (>30% decline over ten years or three generations). The population size may be moderately small to large, but it is not believed to approach the thresholds for Vulnerable under the population size criterion (<10,000 mature individuals with a continuing decline estimated to be >10% in ten years or three generations, or with a specified population structure). For these reasons the species is evaluated as Least Concern.

Family/Sub-family Psittacidae

Species name author (Gould, 1841)

Taxonomic source(s) Christidis and Boles (1994), Sibley and Monroe (1990, 1993)

Identification

Population estimate

Population trend

Range estimate (breeding/resident)

Country endemic?

10,000

unset

-

Yes

Range & population The species occurs in the mallee or mulga woodland of southern semi-arid inland Australia. However, the exact nature of its movements and patterns of abundance are not understood. Most records are from the Great Victoria Desert with a small population, apparently resident, on Gluepot Station in eastern South Australia. It appears to have declined historically in the Western Australia goldfields and there has been just one record from the Western Australian coast since 1854 (N. Dymond in litt. 2001). Similarly, there are more records from New South Wales in the 19th than in the 20th century. There is only a single record from Queensland since 1929, and a few recent records from the extensively cleared habitat of Victoria and Eyre Peninsula.

Threats Habitat clearance has rendered much marginal habitat in western Western Australia, southern South Australia and north-west Victoria unsuitable. However all records away from its core range, where there has been no habitat clearance, may be the result of ephemeral irruptions. Altered fire regimes may have a detrimental effect elsewhere but there is no evidence of decline in the last 20 years. Although provision of permanent water in semi-arid rangelands is said to have favoured Bourke's Parrot Neopsephotus bourkii over Neophema splendida, the two co-occur over most of the range of N. splendida (Garnett and Crowley 2000).

Conservation measures underway The species is listed under CITES Appendix II.

References del Hoyo et al. 1997, Garnett and Crowley 2000.

Further web sources of information

Australian Govt - Action Plan for Australian Birds 2000 - Recovery Outline

Text account compilers Phil Benstead (BirdLife International), Stuart Butchart (BirdLife International), Jonathan Ekstrom (BirdLife International), Sally Fisher (BirdLife International), Matt Harding (BirdLife International)

IUCN Red List evaluators Jeremy Bird (BirdLife International), Stuart Butchart (BirdLife International)

Recommended citation BirdLife International (2009) Species factsheet: Neophema splendida. Downloaded from http://www.birdlife.org on 10/2/2010

This information is based upon, and updates, the information published in BirdLife International (2000) Threatened birds of the world. Barcelona and Cambridge, UK: Lynx Edicions and BirdLife International, BirdLife International (2004) Threatened birds of the world 2004 CD-ROM and BirdLife International (2008) Threatened birds of the world 2008 CD-ROM. These sources provide the information for species accounts for the birds on the IUCN Red List.

To provide new information to update this factsheet or to correct any errors, please email BirdLife

To contribute to discussions on the evaluation of the IUCN Red List status of Globally Threatened Birds, please visit BirdLife's Globally Threatened Bird Forums