Norfolk Island, Australia Photograph by Peter Clarke   Island off the east coast of Australia Tropical and Subtropical Moist Broadleaf Forests   50 square miles (100 square kilometers) -- about the size of Washington DC Critical/Endangered

· Lost Parrots
· Special Features
· Did You Know?
· Wild Side
· Cause for Concern
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Lost Parrots

When Norfolk Island was first settled, European farmers must have marveled at the abundant rain forests full of pines. Populations of the Norfolk Island green parrot, for example, were so abundant that settlers used sticks to beat the parrots off the crops. By 1983, however, so much native habitat had been destroyed that only 16 green parrots remained. But there may be hope for the species yet.

Special Features

This chain of islands consists of Norfolk Island (the main landmass) and two smaller, uninhabited islands. At the time of its discovery in 1774, Norfolk Island was almost completely covered in subtropical rain forest, with shrubs, herbs, and climbing plants found on the steep cliffs and high slopes. The rain forest contained an overstory of Norfolk Island pines, which often reached nearly 200 feet (60 m) tall. Today, only one small tract of native forest remains, protected as a national park. However, 174 native plant species can still be found on Norfolk Island, including the smooth tree-fern. This is the tallest tree-fern in the world, reaching heights of 65 feet (20 m).

	Boobook owls have a two-note call, which sounds a little like "boo-book," "mo-poke," or "more-pork." As a result, these birds are sometimes called mopokes.

Wild Side

At the time of human settlement, most of the land birds found here were endemic. Of those 15 species, six are now extinct and four are highly endangered. The Norfolk Island boobook, an endemic owl, was reduced to a single female in 1987 but now has successfully mated with a male New Zealand boobook (a closely related species). Some of their offspring have survived to breed as well. The endangered Norfolk Island green parrot is also the focus of a captive breeding program. But the world may already have lost another species, the rare Gould’s wattled bat—it is the islands’only native land mammal and may now be extinct.

Cause for Concern

Although the forest protected in the national park is fairly intact, the island has been overgrown with non-native plant species. By the 1960s, 244 non-native plant species had been introduced here. The two smaller islands in the group have been even harder hit by introduced species, including animals. Non-native goats, pigs, and rabbits have virtually erased the native rain forest, including some of the last remaining stands of Norfolk Island pines on these two islands. However, the Australian National Parks and Wildlife Service is leading efforts to restore native habitats throughout the island chain.

For more information on this ecoregion, go to the World Wildlife Fund Scientific Report.