THE Distrffiution of the AUSTRALIAN PSITTACINES (Order PSITTACIFORMES: Parrots, Cockatoos, Etc.)

THE S.A,' ORNITHOLOGIST 3 THE DISTRffiUTION OF THE AUSTRALIAN PSITTACINES (Order PSITTACIFORMES: Parrots, Cockatoos, etc.) by ALAN LENDON, Adelaide This paper is the culmination of many east-central Queensland and of the Paradise years of documentation of personal obser- Parrot in the vicinity of the Mitchell River. vations and of published records especially those in The Emu and The South' Australian ORDER: PSITTACIFORMES: PARROTS, Ornithologist, of the distribution of the Aus COCKATOOS, ETC. tralian members of the order Psittaciformes. FAMILY TRICHOGLOSSIDAE: LORIKEETS An attempt has been made to collate this in 254 TRICHOGLOSSUS MOLUCCANUS formation with the records of the specimens RAINBOW (BLUE MOUNTAIN) LORIKEET in the various Australian Museums, thanks Checklist distribution-E.A.,- S.A., T. to the courtesy of their Directors, and with Eastern Australia is best divided into the communicated observations of numerous States. In Queensland, there are records field workers, far too numerous to mention from some Torres Strait islands and from individually. Great reliance has been placed all of Cape York Peninsula and thence down on the various regional textbooks of Aus the whole of eastern Queensland without ever tralian birds, particularly Birds of Western going much further west than the limits of Australia by Serventy and WhitteIl, Tasma the Great Dividing Range. It is appreciated nian Birds by Sharland, A H andlist of the that there is considerable overlap of the range Birds of Victoria by Wheeler, A Handlist of of this and the next species at the base of the Birds of New South Wales by McGill, Cape York Peninsula. List of Northern Territory Birds by Storr, and In New South Wales, the recorded distri the papers appearing in The South Australian bution is again limited to the Great Dividing Ornithologist by Terrill and Rix and by Range and to the east thereof and but rarely Condon. to the west whilst in Victoria, the only notable * The R.A.O.V. Checklist, 2nd edition, exception is the absence from the whole of 1926, prior to its various amendments, has the north-western corner and indeed from been taken as the basis upon which to work. much of the northern half of the State. The distribution of each species, as therein In South Australia, it appears to be pre recorded, has been quoted, corrected when dominantly found in the south-east and the necessary and in most instances amplified Mount Lofty Ranges with northern-most considerably. It is probable that many state recordings at Sutherlands and Melrose in the ments made will be inaccurate in some re southern Flinders Range and with further spects and the author hopes that readers will extensions to Yorke Peninsula, Kangaroo not hesitate to inform him of mistakes in Island and southern Eyre Peninsula. distribution and of extensions of range. Many According to Sharland, it is a rare visitor of the older records have been ignored when to Tasmania. there is no confirmation of the continued 255 TRICHOGLOSSUS RUBRITORQUIS existence of the species in the area concerned: RED-COLLARED LORIKEET notable amongst these being Gilbert's records Checklist distribution - N.W.A. (Kimber of the occurrence of the Turquoise Parrot in ley), N.T. N.W.A. (Kimberley) implies the whole of * Because of the nature of this paper, the the Kimberley division of Western Australia nomenclature used has, at the author's request, been that of The Official Checklist .of the Birds and the records extend as far west as Broome. of Australia. 2nd Edn., 1926. Changes in the Northern Territory records cover the whole Checklist affecting this group may be found in of 'The Top End' and are all north of the Supplements I, 2, 4, 6 and 8, published in The sixteenth parallel of latitude from Port Keats Emu, vol, 41 (1941), 87-88; vol. 41 (1941), 213; vol. 46 (1946). 70; vel, 50 (1950), 187-190; and in the west through Daly Waters on the vol. 60 (1960), 140-145 respectively. - Stuart Highway to Borroloola on the Me- 4 THE S.A. ORNITHOLOGIST Arthur River in the east and include Melville east thereof; there being relatively few occur and Groote Islands. rences to the west of the range. In Victoria, The Checklist makes no mention of the it appears to- 'occur practically everywhere Queensland records which extend along the from east to west, including the north-west Gulf Country from the lower Gregory River corner on occasions. In South Australia, it and Burketown in the west to Normanton occurs throughout the south-east, on Kan and Georgetown at the base of Cape York garoo Island, in the Mount Lofty Ranges Peninsula. 'and as far north as Orroroo and along the Murray eastward from Morgan to the border. 256 TRICHOGLOSSUS (EUTELIPSITTA)' There are also a' few records from southern CHLOROLEPIDOTUS Eyre Peninsula. In Tasmania, it is plentiful SCALY-BREASTED LORIKEET and widely distributed. Checklist distribution - N.Q., E.Q., E.N.S.W. ' - 259· GLOSSOPSITTA The Queensland distribution is best am PORPHYROCEPHALA plified by stating that it occurs as far north PURPLE-CROWNED LORIKEET. as Cooktown and then follows the coastal Checklist distribution-s-Southern Australia. belt down to the New South Wales border. Eastern New South Wales should read north , The foregoing is most uninformative. In eastern New South Wales, east of the Divid Western Australia, where it is the only lori ing' Range; according to Hindwood (pers. keet, other than in the Kimberley division, comm.) it is always around Sydney but is it IS found in the south and south-west, south comparatively rare and this is apparently its of the mulga-eucalypt line and in the Great southern limit. Recent sightings in the vici Victoria Desert and along the coastal mallee nity of Melbourne are almost certainly the fringe to Eucla when the eucalypts are in result of accidental liberations. flower. This latter probably implies a more or less continuous distribution across into 257 PSITTEUTELES VE;RSICOLOR South Australia, where it occurs from south ern Eyre Peninsula north to the Gawler VARIED LORIKEET Range. East of Spencer Gulf, there are Checktist distribution - Tropical N.A. records from Yorke Peninsula, Kangaroo The foregoing requires considerable ampli Island and from most of the remainder of the fication. In Western Australia it occurs only south-eastern part of the State, north as far in the Kimberley Division and it does not as Wilmington in the lower Flinders Range. appear to have been recorded west of the In' Victoria, it is widely distributed, Fitzroy River. especially in the western part of the State In the Northern Territory, it is found but there is also a suspect record from Malla throughout 'The Top End,' the most south coota. The New South Wales records are erly recordings being at Elliott on the Stuart few and tar between and mainly southern Highway. viz. Euston, Rand, Albury and Bega. In North Queensland it has been recorded from much of the northern and western part 260 GLOSSOPSITTA PUSILLA of Cape York Peninsula and further west as far south as Richmond, Cloncurry and LITTLE'LORIKEET CamooweaI. Checklist distribution - E.A. (Cairns Vic.), S.A., T. 258 GLOSSOPSITTA CONCINNA The foregoing appears to be reasonably MUSK LORIKEET accurate but bears elaboration. Checklist distribution - S.Q. - V. Queensland records extend as far north as S.A.; T. Cairns and are all from the coastal strip The foregoing is reasonably adequate. In and dividing range. Queensland, there are relatively few record Those from New South Wales extend ings, all being from the south-eastern corner from the north to the south of the State of the State. but there appear to be few from further In New South Wales, rnostrecordings are inland than the western slopes of the Great from the Great Dividing Range or to the Dividing Range. THE S.A. ORNITHOLOGIST In Victoria, the species is widely distributed 264 CALYPTORHYNCHUS BANKSI but there are no certain records from the RED-TAILED BLACK COCKATOO north-west corner. Checklist distribution-A., King 1. In South Australia, it is commonest in the south-east, with occasional sightings in the The distribution, although adrriittedly very Mount Lofty Ranges and on the Adelaide wide-spread, is not nearly as extensive as im Plains. The northernmost recording is from plied above, particularly as regards the Sutherlands, and westernmost from Yorke southern part of the Continent. Peninsula. Serventy and Whittell state. "This species In Tasmania, it appears to be relatively is distributed throughout the State, but is now uncommon. rare in the south-west." Published records, however, show that the small race stellatus FAMILY OPOPSITTIDAE: FIG-PARROTS (= naso) occurs from the extreme south 261 OPOPSITTA COXENI west as far north as the Murchison River. RED-FACED LORILET Thereafter there appear to be no records Checklist distribution-S.E.Q., N.E.N.S.W. whatever until the vicinity of Broome is reached and it then occurs eastward through Records of this species, which are remark out the Kimberley division. In the Northern ably few, do not alter the above with the Territory the species is widely distributed exception of one from Blackall in central throughout "the Top End" and also in Cen Queensland. The southernmost record is tral Australia and it seems probable that that [rpm the MacIeay River. fitzroyi of the north-west and samueli of the 262 OPOPSITTA LEADBEATERI centre are confluerit with and indistinguish able from macrorhynchus qf the Northern BLUE-FACED LORILET Territory. In Queensland, again the species Checklist distribution-N.Q. is widely distributed, being continuous with The foregoing requires elaboration as it is both the northern and central populations. far too vague. All records suggest that the The range includes Cape York Peninsula species is confined to an area bounded by but it is probably absent, according to Mack Cairns in the north and Cardwell in the (pers.

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