ArticleScientific reports2020
The endocast of the Night Parrot (Pezoporus occidentalis) reveals insights into its sensory ecology and the evolution of nocturnality in birds.
Article in Scientific reports, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. An erratum has been issued. Cited by 6 papers.
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Who cites it
6 citing papers in PubMed, 17 citations in OpenAlex.
- Comparative Anatomy Supports the Evolution of Nocturnality in the Extinct Hawaiian Ibis Apteribis.Integrative and comparative biology · 2026Article
- Museomics and Salvaged Feathers Piece Together the Evolutionary History and Conservation Genomics of the Elusive, Critically Endangered Night Parrot (Pezoporus occidentalis).Molecular ecology · 2025Article
- Avian telencephalon and cerebellum volumes can be accurately estimated from digital brain endocasts.Biology letters · 2025Article
- Evolution of Avian Eye Size Is Associated with Habitat Openness, Food Type and Brain Size.Animals : an open access journal from MDPI · 2023Article
- The endocast of the insular and extinct Sylviornis neocaledoniae (Aves, Galliformes), reveals insights into its sensory specializations and its twilight ecology.Scientific reports · 2022Article
- Not like night and day: the nocturnal letter-winged kite does not differ from diurnal congeners in orbit or endocast morphology.Royal Society open science · 2022Article
Corrections and comments
- Erratum issued
Authors and funding
7 authors at 4 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
The Night Parrot (Pezoporus occidentalis) is a rare, nocturnal parrot species that has largely escaped scientific investigation due to its behaviour and habitat preferences. Recent field studies have revealed some insights into Night Parrot behaviour, but nothing is known of its sensory abilities. Here, we used μCT scans of an intact Night Parrot specimen to determine if its visual system shares similarities with other nocturnal species. The endocast of the Night Parrot revealed relatively small optic lobes and optic foramina, especially compared with closely related grass parakeets, but no apparent differences in orbit dimensions. Our data suggests that the Night Parrot likely has lower visual acuity than most other parrots, including its congener, the Eastern Ground Parrot (P. wallicus). We propose that the visual system of the Night Parrot might represent a compromise between the need to see under low light conditions and the visual acuity required to detect predators, forage, and fly. Based on the endocast and optic foramen measurements, the Night Parrot fits into a common pattern of decreased retinal input to the optic lobes in birds that should be explored more thoroughly in extant and extinct species.
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