Night parrot's Kimberley location under wraps after rare bird snapped for just the second time

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The night parrot has been dubbed one of the world's most mysterious birds.

It is endangered and known to exist in very small numbers in Western Queensland.

But in October, Indigenous rangers in Western Australia's Kimberley region captured the second-known photo of the bird in the Great Sandy Desert in just over a year.

Paruku ranger coordinator Jamie Brown said they were keeping the exact location of their discovery a secret, in order to protect the species.

"We're keeping it under the mat sort of thing … because it was so popular and everyone's looking for it, we were just a bit frightened of a big wave of people just coming in and just looking everywhere and trying to find it," he said.

"We've got a permit system to manage visitors.

"We know where it is, it's in the Great Sandy Desert somewhere, but just respect our country and respect our ways and elders."

While it was only the second photo of a night parrot ever taken in the Kimberley, the bird's call was instantly recognised when played to elders.

Jamie Brown said he was proud to be looking after the night parrot for the next generation.

"I would like my sons, my son and like their kids, to like my grandkids, to see the bird too," he said.

Audio reveals two birds calling back and forth

Broome Bird Observatory warden Nigel Jackett said while only one bird was captured in the photo, an audio recording suggested there were two in the area.

"You can tell by the way that they're calling that they're calling back and forth to one another, so one will call and then other will respond a little bit more distantly than the first call," he said.

Mr Jackett also said the proximity of last year's recording to this one could mean the rangers had captured the same bird twice.

"It's all in the same general area, where the rangers have been monitoring, so that probably increases the chances," he said.

University of Queensland night parrot researcher Nick Leseberg said working with the Kimberley rangers was proving a big success.

"These Indigenous ranger groups, they're the ones that actually spend the time on the ground, on country," he said.

"We tell them, 'this is sort of the habitat that we're looking for', and straight away they're thinking of the areas they know on their country that are like that."

Researchers confident despite SA 'controversy'

The latest photo comes after doubt was recently cast on a claim the birds exist in South Australia.

But Mr Leseberg said he was 100 per cent sure the fresh picture from the Kimberley did indeed show a night parrot.

"When there's controversy around something like that, I guess everyone can get tainted by it," he said.

"I guess you've just got to back yourself and be confident that the research and the work you're doing … you know, stands scrutiny, which it has so far."

Mr Brown said it had been a team effort.

"I'd like to thank my brothers, the rangers, that are out here working with me every day," he said.

"I'd also like to thank my family, the elders, like there's family groups, the Stundis, the Lulus, the Johns and the Bieundurry, the Bennys and the Chungalas and many many more."

Topics: animals, animals-and-nature, animal-behaviour, animal-science, broome-6725, wa, perth-6000