NATURAL HISTORY · CATALOGUE RECORD
Eastern Ground Parrot
Pezoporus wallicus (Kerr, 1792)
Source-backed taxonomic record
Accepted species in Catalogue of Life’s 11 September 2026 base release. This preserves the source classification and available supporting data; it is not a completed species monograph.
Open encyclopedia reference
The ground parrot (Pezoporus wallicus) is a parrot endemic to Australia. It is one of only four ground-dwelling parrots in the world, the others being the closely related night parrot (Pezoporus occidentalis), the Antipodes parakeet (Cyanoramphus unicolor), and the flightless kākāpō (Strigops habroptilus) from New Zealand.
The colouration of the two Pezoporus species and the kākāpō is similar – yellowish green with darker barring, somewhat reminiscent of the head and back of the wild-type budgerigar.
When disturbed, a ground parrot flies swiftly just above the ground before dropping back into the vegetation. The presence of the bird is often only revealed by its characteristic dusk and dawn call, a clear whistling sequence of notes which rise in pitch before fading. It is silent in flight.
The IOC World Bird List currently recognises three subspecies; the eastern ground parrot (subsp. wallicus), the western ground parrot or Kyloring (subsp. flaviventris) and the Tasmanian ground parrot. (subsp. leachi).
Wikipedia contributors, Ground parrot; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T09:24:34.179995+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Pezoporus wallicus (Kerr, 1792)
- Name authority
- (Kerr, 1792)
- Common name
- Eastern Ground Parrot
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Aves
- Order
- Psittaciformes
- Family
- Psittaculidae
- Genus
- Pezoporus
- Extinction status
- Recorded extant
Classification family tree
Nested taxonomic groups from the source. This is not a direct-ancestor chain, a dated evolutionary tree or a phylogenetic reconstruction.
- domainEukaryota (Chatton, 1925) Whittaker & Margulis, 1978
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- subphylumVertebrata
- infraphylumGnathostomata
- parvphylumOsteichthyes
- megaclassTetrapoda
- classAves
- orderPsittaciformes
- familyPsittaculidae
- genusPezoporus Illiger, 1811
- speciesPezoporus wallicus (Kerr, 1792)
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Pezoporus. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| Night ParrotPezoporus occidentalis (Gould, 1861) | PsittaculidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
Names & synonyms
Names explicitly linked to this accepted taxon in the source. Synonymy can change with revision.
| Recorded name | Source status |
|---|---|
| Psittacus wallicus Kerr, 1792 Kerr, 1792 | synonym |
Documented distribution
Source distribution statements, not a complete range map. A listed locality is not necessarily a place of origin.
Source literature & publication evidence
References attached to this source record, including nomenclatural citations where supplied. This is a selected bibliography; abbreviated citations remain in the source’s form.
- https://www.itis.gov/servlet/SingleRpt/SingleRpt?search_topic=TSN&search_value=177599 Source fields: Taxon.tsv dwc:namePublishedIn, Taxon.tsv dcterms:references
Origins, evidence & remaining research
Name authority and publication references document nomenclature where the source supplies it. They do not establish evolutionary origins or the earliest fossil occurrence.
Specimen-level evidence, morphology, ecological research, phylogenetic studies, a comprehensive bibliography and a located literary passage have not yet been compiled for this record. A suitable sourced image remains to be added.
Dataset citation & attribution
This exact taxon in ChecklistBank · Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11
Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11; dataset 316321; doi:10.48580/dgz5n. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ . Retrieved 5 October 2026.
Stable key: col:4FJ7W. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.