A fledging of the rare night parrot, thought extinct for nearly 100 years, has been photographed for the first time.
University of Queensland scientist Nick Leseberg and James Watson had been tracking the birds when they lucked into finding the young parrot.
Mr Leseberg, a PhD candidate studying the breeding success of the birds, said there had been nests found before, but the circumstances were much more favourable this time.
"There had been a couple nests found, but of the three that have been found at Pullen Pullen reserve, two we know failed," Mr Leseberg said.
"One of them a snake ate the eggs, the other one the chick died for some reason.
"This is exciting because this is the first time we've actually seen a nest that we know was successful, that we know the outcome was young birds, which is pretty cool.
"It's also the first time a fledgling has been documented, there's some reports in literature that's nearly 100 years old, but this is the first time that we've actually got a photo of what one looks like and we can describe it."
The fact a fledgling has been found is not a sign of a boost in the population, but it is a good sign.
The problem with the night parrot was there were so few tracked birds around that anything found or discovered was anecdotal.
There was no baseline in which researchers could compare what they found, which, in scientific terms, was exciting for Mr Leseberg and Mr Watson as their find has become the reference for all others to compare the young of the species.
The fledgling night parrot was spotted at the Pullen Pullen reserve in western Queensland which was created by Bush Heritage Australia and also receives funding from the Australian government.
The the secret location of the reserve is also protected by an interim conservation order and trespassers can be fined.
The interesting thing about the parrot, Mr Leseberg said, was there had been persistent evidence of the bird but it wasn't until a dead one was found that they knew it still lived for sure.
"So we knew it was out there, we just couldn't find them, until 2013, when John Young found the ones that are now on Pullen Pullen," he said.
"The truth of it is, we can't make a clear decision about whether they are critically endangered or maybe there are even more of them than we think.
"They are so shy, they only come out at night and are so hard to find, the fact that we know they are breeding successfully, at least we know they are doing their bit to survive.
"We just have to find out why they are so rare and try and help them out the rest of the way."
The bird was not common, but reported regularly in central Australia until the late 1800s. After that records stopped.
"In the last three years is the first time in more than a century that we've actually be able to say there are definitely birds here.
"One of the primary things we are trying to work out through research is why, why did they disappear."
Mr Leseberg and his colleague hope to find out what led to the decline of the birds.
"Cats are the big one and fire regimes are probably at play with the night parrot but we don't know for certain," he said.
"We know that burning has had an effect on other smaller animals and birds in central Australia and we're guessing it has an effect on the night parrot too."
When they finally spotted the young bird flying out of the spinifex hummock, where the birds nest, they backed out of the area and left it and came back before sunset with recording gear.
"We sat about 50 metres away from the hummock and watched, just after it was completely dark an adult bird landed right near the hummock and started calling," Mr Leseberg said.
"We could hear what we are 99 per cent certain was the fledgling calling back to it."