Data Zone
Justification of Red List Category
This species has an extremely large range, and hence does not approach the thresholds for Vulnerable under the range size criterion (Extent of Occurrence <20,000 km2 combined with a declining or fluctuating range size, habitat extent/quality, or population size and a small number of locations or severe fragmentation). The population trend appears to be fluctuating, and hence the species does not approach the thresholds for Vulnerable under the population trend criterion (>30% decline over ten years or three generations). The population size may be moderately small to large, but it is not believed to approach the thresholds for Vulnerable under the population size criterion (<10,000 mature individuals with a continuing decline estimated to be >10% in ten years or three generations, or with a specified population structure). For these reasons the species is evaluated as Least Concern.
Trend justification
The population is suspected to be fluctuating and able to build up rapidly in favourable conditions (del Hoyo et al. 1997).
The species occurs in the mallee or mulga woodland of southern semi-arid inland Australia. However, the exact nature of its movements and patterns of abundance are not understood. Most records are from the Great Victoria Desert with a small population, apparently resident, on Gluepot Station in eastern South Australia. It appears to have declined historically in the Western Australia goldfields and there has been just one record from the Western Australian coast since 1854 (N. Dymond in litt. 2001). Similarly, there are more records from New South Wales in the 19th than in the 20th century. There is only a single record from Queensland since 1929, and a few recent records from the extensively cleared habitat of Victoria and Eyre Peninsula.
Habitat clearance has rendered much marginal habitat in western Western Australia, southern South Australia and north-west Victoria unsuitable. However all records away from its core range, where there has been no habitat clearance, may be the result of ephemeral irruptions. Altered fire regimes may have a detrimental effect elsewhere but there is no evidence of decline in the last 20 years. Although provision of permanent water in semi-arid rangelands is said to have favoured Bourke's Parrot Neopsephotus bourkii over Neophema splendida, the two co-occur over most of the range of N. splendida (Garnett and Crowley 2000).
Conservation Actions Underway
The species is listed under CITES Appendix II.
Text account compilers
Ekstrom, J., Butchart, S., Benstead, P., Harding, M., Fisher, S.
Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2023) Species factsheet: Neophema splendida. Downloaded from
http://www.birdlife.org on 26/03/2023.
Recommended citation for factsheets for more than one species: BirdLife International (2023) IUCN Red List for birds. Downloaded from
http://www.birdlife.org on 26/03/2023.
