The super rare parrot is causing scientists to give up 'why is it going to go extinct'?

The nature of Australia remains the same, always surprising us with countless exotic animals. From the most venomous snakes on the planet, to the creepy looking creatures. And this time, the "character" surprised scientists as a nocturnal parrot, with the unmistakable name being . "Night Parrot".

Night parrots are now in danger, even considered extinct more than 100 years ago, until the body of a parrot was hit by a truck in 1990. By 2013, science They found traces of Night parrots, even their habitat two years later, although the exact number of the birds could not be determined.

What is surprising, however, comes from a recently published study. Accordingly, scientists have been using data of CT scans of the night parrot since 1990, and discovered an unexpected fact: this parrot has extremely poor vision, even very bad at night. night.

Night Parrot - Night Parrot

The fact that a night bird does not evolve to see at night is really a huge mistake of creation. When invisible, they are easily hit by man-made fences, which protect sheep and cattle from predators. Not to mention, they can fly off the road and get hit by cars, resulting in other tragic disasters.

"Night parrots need good vision to observe at night, to serve the process of finding food, dodging obstacles, avoiding enemies," says evolutionary biologist Vera Weisbecker from Flinders University at Adelaide

"Therefore, we expect them to have enough visual systems to meet night vision, like other nocturnal birds, such as New Zealand's Kakapo or the owl. However, the Night Parrot does not. those things".

This judgment was made based on the process of reconstructing Night Parrot's brain from their rare intact skull, then compared with other parrots. "We found that parrots are about the same size of eyes as other parrots, but have a smaller optic nerve," says Aubrey Keirnan, a study author from the University of Queensland .

This parrot has extremely poor vision, even worse at night.

" The area of ​​the lobe of the brain where the brain is responsible for observing is also smaller. This shows that the Night parrot does not seem to be good at observing in low light."

"Their sight is quite sensitive, but the resolution is not high. They are difficult to distinguish obstacles such as barbed wire fences, or even predator predators."

For comparison, other nocturnal mammals have very large pupils, which maximize their ability to receive light. So they can see better at night, easily snatching prey or protecting themselves. And the Night Parrot - one more time, they don't have that.

According to Andrew Iwaniuk, co-author of the study from Lethbridge University (Canada), the approach to this bird from an anatomical perspective is really a wise move. "This parrot is so rare that we don't even know how many individuals are left."

This species of parrot is so rare that we don't even know how many individuals are left.

"For conservation, it is necessary to understand their behavior to make an informed decision. But because it is so rare, observation is almost impossible."

"The removal of unused fences should be a priority, especially in areas where night parrots appear," said Nick Leseberg, another author from the University of Queensland.

"However, we cannot simply remove the fence. Cattle need them, and preventing prey also contributes to the protection of night parrots."

The research is published in Scientific Report.