Naretha Bluebonnet Northiella narethae (prev. Northiella/Psephotus haematogaster)

Podcast on Naretha Bluebonnet by Lois Pearson:
https://birdcast.buzzsprout.com/1072540/7273333-aviary-visit-come-meet-the-naretha-bluebonnet-parrot-of-australia

The Naretha Bluebonnet Parrot of Australia
by Wayne Gearing

The Naretha bluebonnet (Northiella narethae) was previously classified within the Psephotus genus but was in more recent years re-classified. This bluebonnet is smaller than the other eastern bluebonnets of Australia and was not announced to the non-indigenious world until 1921 by the renowned ornithologist Mr White. Mr White wrote about this new found parrot in "The Emu" in 1921 naming them Psephotus haematogaster narethae - the Naretha parrot. A little, mostly olive coloured parrot that subsequently attracted much attention and desire some say due to it being classed as a separate species.
The Naretha Parrot is also known as the Naretha Bluebonnet, Naretha, Little Bluebonnet and more colloquially as the "narie". The naretha's basic natural habitat, ie it’s homelands, is the scant woodlands that border the western fringe of the Nullabor Plain. This area is known as the myall belt – on account of the acacia tree, the myall, which predominates in this area. The region frequented by the Naretha has been extended in the past century through the initial unintentional efforts of local landowners. For as livestock was gradually introduced to the area, so was permanent water supply. Hence permitting narethas to survive in areas that were previously unwatered and uninhabitable. There are pockets of narethas found outside this basic range but these populations are thought to be the result of illegally attained birds being dumped so as to avoid prosecution.
The caucasian discovery of the Naretha was due to the installation of the trans-continental railway aka “the line”. Due to the installation of the railroad and the needs of the railway system itself i.e. water, food and lodgings the railway line itself created entire communities of their own dotted across Australia. And things being as they were in the 1900's when" the line" was finished there were small settlements all along the track so as to provide the all important water to fuel the then steam locomotives. It was at one of these small railway settlements, Zanthus, located some 200km east of Kalgoorlie that the unique Naretha bluebonnet was discovered. At the time of the discovery an expedition was in progress to map and collect bird specimens of the western nullabor region funded by Mr White. On arrival at the settlement of Zanthus a bird collector (Mr Frank Whitlock) working for expedition saw a "pet" parrot belonging to one of the railway workers and this parrot was like no other bird he had seen before and began to suspect it was in fact a significant finding. The railway worker informed the collector he had been the owner of the parrot for some 5 years and that it had originally been taken from a line area further east. This area was known to most of the railway men as the "205 mile camp" but was given the name "Naretha" which meant "saltbush" in local indigenous language. And so it was that the collector was instructed to go to Naretha siding and collect this new parrot species by Mr White.
The Naretha is the smallest of all the bluebonnets. The Naretha bluebonnet differs also in colour from the other bluebonnets the most obvious being that they have no red on their chest/abdomen. Although male and females appear identical there are subtle differences in size and colour between the sexes. Males are generally bigger than females in both head size, beak width and overall length. Mature males have a yellow splash on their lemon chests. Mature birds have a pearly grey beak colour whereas young birds have a salmon pink.
The Australian Government's current taxon summary lists the naretha in the wild as common and that they have the least concern conservation status.
This summary states that in the past it was suspected that significant numbers of narethas were trapped. However it would be the nest robbings rather than the trappings that would have caused the greatest distress to the wild naretha. As can be appreciated the availability of suitable nest sites along the edge of the Nullabor Plain would be limited sheerly due to harsh environmental conditions. Nest robbing involves the destruction of the nest site so as to retrieve the young and eggs as such rendering the nest useless in any further breeding seasons.
The bird is listed as in need of protection/monitoring in Western Australia by Parks and Wildlife (priority 4) and as near threatened by the South Australian government.
To assist in eliminating the illegal trade involving wild narethas in the early 1990's Conservation and Land Management (CALM) authorities initiated the Naretha Bluebonnet Captive Breeding Program. Several well known Western Australian aviculturists were chosen to participate in the program in which they were permitted to breed young narethas from wild caught parent birds. Under the program CALM allowed the aviculturists to retain a percentage of the young. The provenance birds and remaining young were then auctioned by CALM to other interested aviculturists. Although there were some narethas held in captivity prior to the CALM captive breeding program, it was basically from the 40 birds trapped under the program that has re-established the naretha within Australian aviaries and helped preserve the existing wild population.