Canberra’s human population isn’t the only species to experience a housing crisis in the ACT. The vulnerable superb parrot is facing a nesting crisis in Canberra’s woodlands, according to a new study by ANU researchers and the ACT Government.

Just half a per cent (0.5 per cent) of available tree hollows are suitable nests for superb parrots, and the suitability of the nesting site can have a big impact on the number of offspring they’re able to produce.

Lead researcher Dr Dejan Stojanovic and his co-authors investigated whether pairs of parrots that monopolise nesting sites have an advantage when it comes to breeding success.

Their preferred nest sites are extremely rare, and the Animal Conservation study shows breeding pairs of superb parrots able to successfully defend a suitable site over multiple years produce more than double the offspring of unsuccessful pairs.

“Breeding pairs that can secure access to a good quality nest over time dominated the breeding output of Canberra,” Dr Stojanovic said.

The research presents conclusive evidence of the importance of protecting nesting sites for superb parrot population recovery.

Using genetic techniques to look at the relatedness of superb parrots in Canberra, they found that of the 181 superb parrots born over five years, 60 per cent were the offspring of only 13 breeding pairs that monopolised preferred nest hollows.

The remaining 40 per cent of births were attributed to 21 breeding pairs that bred only once during the five-year study.

Co-author and senior ecologist with the ACT Parks and Conservation Service, Dr Laura Rayner said, “The lack of breeding by local nestlings is a worry, and also a surprise.

“We don’t know what happens to young superb parrots after they leave their nests, but our genetic sampling shows that they are not breeding where they were born.”

The study has raised questions about the longevity of the vulnerable species.

“Our research highlights that access to suitable nesting hollows is critical for superb parrots. However, encroachment on nesting areas by suburbs and agriculture likely escalates competition for this rare and declining resource,” Dr Rayner said.

The research has been published in Animal Conservation.

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