Swift Parrot

Taxobox
name = Swift Parrot

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image_caption = At Antwerp Zoo, Belgium
image_width = 300px
status = EN
status_system = IUCN3.1
trend = down
regnum = Animalia
phylum = Chordata
classis = Aves
ordo = Psittaciformes
familia = Psittacidae
subfamilia = Platycercinae
tribus = Platycercini
genus = "Lathamus"
genus_authority = Lesson, 1830
species = "L. discolor"
binomial = "Lathamus discolor"
binomial_authority = (White, J., 1790)The Swift Parrot ("Lathamus discolor") breeds in Tasmania and migrates north to south eastern Australia from Griffith-Warialda in Queensland and west to Adelaide in the winter. It is related to the rosellas, with the feeding habits of a lorikeet. It is the only member in the genus "Lathamus".

The Swift Parrot is endangered with only about 1000 pairs remaining in the wild, and its population is declining.

Description

The Swift Parrot is about 25 cm (10 in) long and has long pointed wings and long tapering tail feathers. It is mainly green with bluish crown and red on the face above and below the beak. The adult female is slightly duller, and the juvenile has a dark brown iris and a pale orange bill.cite web|url =http://www.birdlife.org/datazone/species/index.html?action=SpcHTMDetails.asp&sid=1488&m=0 | title = Swift Parrot - BirdLife Species Factsheet| publisher =BirdLife International |year = 2008]

Breeding and social habits

The species breeds in Tasmania from September to December. It nests in tree hollows about 6–20 metres from ground level and usually with other breeding pairs. Eggs are white with 3–5 per clutch. It disperses to the mainland during from April to September, being found as far north as south-eastern Queensland and as far west as Adelaide although recent sightings in SA have been restricted to the Eastern part of the state.

Voice is of high pitched tinking chattering, piping pee-pit, pee-pit.

Habitat

Usually inhabiting: forests, woodlands, agricultural land and plantations, and also in urban areas.

Diet

Seeds and grains, green vegetation, fruit, nectar and pollen, insects and larvae.

Conservation Status

It is thought that only 1000 pairs remain in the wild. Habitat destruction and loss of old trees with nesting hollows is the critical factor in its decline.

Australia

Swift Parrots are listed as endangered on the Australian Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999.

tate of Victoria, Australia

* The Swift Parrot is listed as threatened on the Victorian Flora and Fauna Guarantee Act (1988). [ [http://www.dse.vic.gov.au/DSE/nrenpa.nsf/LinkView/EADA0F1874AF9CF24A2567C1001020A388BBA5581CF9D859CA256BB300271BDB Department of Sustainability and Environment, Victoria] ] Under this Act, an "Action Statement" for the recovery and future management of this species has been prepared. [ [http://www.dse.vic.gov.au/DSE/nrenpa.nsf/LinkView/617768308BCB666E4A25684E00192281E7A24BB36FF60A144A256DEA00244294 Department of Sustainability and Environment, Victoria] ]

* On the 2007 advisory list of threatened vertebrate fauna in Victoria, the Swift Parrot is listed as endangered.cite book | author = Victorian Department of Sustainability and Environment | title = Advisory List of Threatened VertebrateFauna in Victoria - 2007 | publisher = Department of Sustainability and Environment | date = 2007 | location = East Melbourne, Victoria | pages = 15 | url = | id = ISBN 978-1-74208-039-0 ]

References

* Database entry includes a range map, a brief justification of why this species is endangered, and the criteria used
* "Field guide to the birds of Australia" Graham Pizzey and Frank Knight, Angus & Robertson 1997, 3rd edition 2000. ISBN 0-207-19714-8