Superb Parrot A male Superb Parrot in bushland near the Australian Institute of Sport. Photo: By 0ystercatcherAN ENDANGERED parrot depicted on a country shire's emblem is dwindling in numbers because of grain spilt by the roadside.
Superb parrots eat so much grain they are unable to take off in time to avoid being hit by speeding vehicles.
The National Parks and Wildlife Service is concerned because only a few thousand of the distinctive bright grass-green birds - found only in parts of eastern inland NSW - remain.
The service's South West Slopes regional manager, Steve Horsley, said losing any birds would be a big setback for the species.
He wants truck drivers carting grain to properly cover their loads after reports of parrots killed by vehicles on a long stretch of road near Binalong, west of Goulburn. A local farmer reported dozens more birds were too full of grain to fly and were also at risk of being hit by passing vehicles.
Mr Horsley said: "This has been an issue historically which we thought had been solved to a large extent after we ran an extensive campaign to make people aware of the need to cover grain trucks to prevent spillage.
"There was a significant level of co-operation and a great improvement in the problem but reports of more parrots being killed just shows that it only needs one truck to spill grain and we can lose a lot of birds.
"The wild population of superb parrots is still very small and losing any birds can be a major setback for the species.
"Motorists slowing down gives these amazing birds a chance of surviving."
Boorowa Shire uses the superb parrot on its road sign welcoming visitors to the district. Mayor Wendy Tuckerman appealed to drivers to be aware of the birds feeding on the sides of roads.
"It's our precious little bird and our trademark but all we can do is appeal to drivers to slow down," she said.
"It's an absolute tragedy to see them killed."