Macquarie parakeet facts for kids

The Macquarie parakeet (Cyanoramphus erythrotis) was a type of parrot that lived on Macquarie Island. This island is a small, faraway part of Tasmania, Australia, located in the cold Southern Ocean. Sadly, this beautiful bird is now extinct, meaning it no longer exists anywhere in the world. It was also known as the Macquarie Island parakeet.

Understanding the Macquarie Parakeet

Scientists study how living things are related to each other. This is called taxonomy. For a long time, the Macquarie parakeet was thought to be a type of Red-crowned parakeet. It looked very similar to them.

However, in 2001, scientists looked closely at the genes of these birds. They found that many of the different types of red-crowned parakeets were actually separate species. This meant the Macquarie parakeet was its own unique species. Later, it was discovered that some of the samples used in that study were actually from a different island, the Antipodes Islands. But the main idea remained: the Macquarie parakeet was a distinct species.

Life on Macquarie Island

When Macquarie Island was first discovered in 1810, these parrots were very common. They lived all over the island in grassy areas. You could even find them along the shoreline. They would search for small invertebrates (like insects or worms) in the seaweed that washed up on the beach.

Even though people brought dogs and cats to the island by 1820, the parrots were still common. Sealers (people who hunted seals) also hunted the parrots for food. But despite these challenges, the parrots remained plentiful until about 1880.

Why the Macquarie Parakeet Disappeared

The Macquarie parakeet went from being very common to completely extinct in just over ten years. This quick change happened because of two new animals brought to the island: wekas (a type of flightless bird) and European rabbits. These animals arrived in the 1870s and spread quickly in the 1880s.

Before wekas and rabbits arrived, winter was a tough time for predators like cats and dogs. There wasn't much food because burrow-nesting petrels and breeding penguins were not around. This helped keep the numbers of predators low.

However, the rabbits changed everything. They provided a steady food supply for cats and wekas all year round. This meant more cats and wekas could survive and have babies. With more predators, the parrots faced much greater danger. The last time anyone saw a Macquarie parakeet was in 1891.