New hope for the future of the incredibly rare Kyloring

“This is what it takes.” Wright Burt Foundation’s $10 million gift to help save one of Australia’s rarest birds

A significant philanthropic gift is providing new hope for the future of the incredibly rare Kyloring (Western Ground Parrot).

The Wright Burt Foundation have today announced significant funding for BirdLife Australia to enable a critical program of actions with the goal of saving the species from extinction, as part of their $120 million commitment to conservation efforts across Australia.

Hope for a species on the brink 

The Kyloring is currently facing a critical situation with fewer than 180 remaining in the wild today. Experts estimate that without an urgently needed boost to its recovery, there was a 75% likelihood it would have been extinct by 2038.

The Wright Burt Foundation is providing BirdLife Australia with $10M to inject much needed resources that will immediately boost efforts to recover the Kyloring along with some additional support for BirdLife Australia’s priority initiatives.

“When wildlife is pushed this close to being lost forever, this is what it takes to save it,” BirdLife Australia CEO Kate Millar said.

“The substantial investment the Foundation is making reflects the scale of the challenge facing the species and it demonstrates the true cost of the intensive interventions needed for a species on the brink of extinction.” 

“This gift makes possible an ambitious and expertly designed project to save the Kyloring. It means we can work with a strong network of key players to address the threats it faces, deliver the emergency interventions it needs, and secure healthy habitat so Kyloring and the plants and animals they shares the landscape with can thrive once more.” 

BirdLife Australia has a strong relationship with the Wright Burt Foundation who have supported bird conservation in Australia for many years. BirdLife Australia CEO Kate Millar said the injection of funding couldn’t come soon enough. “The Wright Burt Foundation has recognised that for the species to be saved, implementing the actions needed is urgent. Without urgent action, experts were predicting virtually imminent extinction. That story changes today, we can’t wait to get started.” 

Urgent action, years in the making 

This project will build on existing knowledge and initiatives, with BirdLife Australia working in close partnership with the Department of Biodiversity Conservation and Attractions (DBCA) and other key partners across south-western Australia, including the Noongar people who are the traditional custodians of the lands where Kyloring still live.  

Around 150 Kyloring — the majority of the remaining population — inhabit Cape Arid National Park on Western Australia’s south coast, about 120 km east of Esperance. With so many birds concentrated in one area, a single large fire could wipe out almost the entire remaining population. A small second population at Waychinicup–Manypeaks is currently too small to sustain itself and could disappear without help. A handful of birds are in captivity at Perth Zoo.

The recovery plan is based on achievable priority actions identified through expert consultation conducted in 2024, led by the DBCA and supported by BirdLife Australia. Those actions aim to drive the species’ recovery and vastly reduce its probability of extinction. The new funding makes it possible to put that plan into action.

“There is much to do, but we know what needs to be done and the pathway to recovery is clear, thanks to the dedicated efforts of members of the Kyloring Recovery Team and the working group convened in 2024,” said BirdLife Australia’s Director Terrestrial Birds, Dr Richard Seaton. 

“Moving birds between wild sites — known as wild-to-wild translocations — will improve the health of existing populations and establish new ones. Intensive monitoring after release and over the longer term will track progress. We will also trial new methods to improve breeding success and to detect and monitor nests, building knowledge to support future management. Increased management of fire and invasive predators at critical sites will support this work and also benefit the broader ecosystem.”

Restoring wonder for future generations 

WA ecologist and BirdLife Australia Director Mandy Bamford’s connection with Kyloring began when she was eleven. “We travelled to the south coast, and while the rest of the family was at the beach, I was nestled quietly in coastal scrub when I saw the most beautiful green parrot emerge from under a bush. It quietly walked and climbed, rather than flying, chewing on stems as it moved. When the bird ambled off, I raced to the car and flicked through to the page in my field guide—it was a Ground Parrot! Little did I realise how lucky I’d been.” 

Mandy went on to volunteer with BirdLife Australia while at university, assisting with surveys for the Kyloring, but its decline was underway by then. “I even made a return visit to the location where I’d first seen the bird as a child but sadly the whole area had been burnt and there was no sign of Ground Parrots.”  

Then, in 2018 Mandy was shown a striking sculpture made by a primary school art class. “They’d made 140 tiny, clay parrots to represent the entire world population of the Western Ground Parrot,” said Mandy. “I remember thinking, if we don’t all work together, when these children are my age, they might never hear the ascending call of the Ground Parrot.” 

Mandy says Kyloring have large areas of potential habitat in National Parks but managing threats and helping them to rebuild their population has required investment. “With this gift, I can see a future for the Kyloring where multiple populations live in protected reserves, with effective feral predator control and a mosaic of fire ages, and a child like me can sit in the coastal heath and encounter a beautiful green parrot climbing quietly through the undergrowth or hear its distinctive ascending call at dusk.”

We share our immense thanks to the Wright Burt Foundation. It is only through all of us working together that we can create a future where our native birds are flourishing.