Dr Penny Olsen ‘Night Parrot the Bird and the Politics’

Penny, an Honorary Professor at the ANU, will talk about the Night Parrot.  The first museum specimen of the Night Parrot was collected in 1845 but lay unrecognized until well into the 20^th century.  Since then the parrot has continued to elude seekers, revealing itself only intermittently.  The recent discoveries of small populations in south-east Queensland and Western Australia, have heightened interest in the bird.

Abstract
The first museum specimen of the Night Parrot was collected in 1845 but lay unrecognised until well into the 20th century.  Since then the parrot has continued to elude seekers, revealing itself only intermittently.  The recent discoveries of small populations in south-east Queensland and Western Australia and an investigation into the reliability of the man who is credited with rediscovering the parrot in 2013, have only heightened interest in the bird, the mysteries of its biology and the passions it arouses in its pursuers.

Biography
Dr Penny Olsen, AM
Penny is an Honorary Professor in the ANU’s Research School of Biology. Much of her career was spent studying falcons, but parrots are now regarded their closest relatives, so she feels somewhat qualified to have written a book on the Night Parrot for CSIRO Publishing.