DNA analysis has proved the Holy Grail of ornithology, the Night Parrot, is not as rare as previously thought.
Queensland bird enthusiast John Young, who has been searching for the Night Parrot for nearly 15 years, sent five feathers from a roost site he found in the Lake Eyre Basin to the Western Australian Museum's molecular systematics unit for testing, convinced the birds he had been watching were the elusive parrot.
The feathers were found to be 100 per cent identical to the Night Parrot, listed as extinct in New South Wales, regionally extinct in Victoria, critically endangered in WA and the Northern Territory, and endangered in Queensland and South Australia.
There have been little more than a dozen sightings this century, and only one since 1990.
Mr Young said he could not reveal the exact location where he found the birds, in keeping with the wishes of the property owner.
But he hoped to be able to share the information in the future if another site was found.
WA Museum chief executive Alec Coles said Mr Young had made an incredibly significant discovery.
"The Night Parrot is a bird many people believed to be extinct up until 1990," Mr Coles said.
Having the feathers authenticated was the realisation of a dream and the start of a whole new project, Mr Young said.
"I've only ever seen them three times," he said.
"Never before have I been able to get the evidence that would conclusively prove I'd actually found them.
"Now that I have, I want to help protect them."
Mr Young said he would conduct intensive studies of the birds' habits, including filming them.
It is thought there may be as few as 50 breeding pairs left in the wild.
