Swift Parrot
Lathamus discolor
Colorful migratory parrot with long red pointed tail. Breeds in Tasmania and migrates to southeastern Australia in autumn and winter. Found in a wide variety of forests, where its presence is largely dictated by flowering eucalypts on which it feeds. Adult bright green with red and yellow on face and a subtle blue-purple crown patch. In flight, shows bright red underwings and long red tail. Compare Scaly-breasted Lorikeet, which has shorter green-yellow tail. Calls include a sharp rattling as well as short, piercing squeaks.
Identification
The swift parrot is about 25 centimetres (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. The forehead to throat is crimson and there is also crimson patch at the top, edge of the wing. They are noisy, always active and showy, and are very fast with their direct flight.
Taxonomy
The surgeon John White described the swift parrot in 1790 as the red-shouldered paroquet (Psittacus discolor). It was placed in the genus Lathamus by René Primevère Lesson in 1830.<p>A 2011 genetic study including nuclear and mitochondrial DNA found that the swift parrot was an early offshoot from a lineage giving rise to the genera Prosopeia, Eunymphicus and Cyanoramphus, diverging around 14 million years ago.<p>"Swift parrot" has been designated the official common name by the International Ornithologists' Union (IOC).
- Scientific name
- Lathamus discolor
- Authority
- (Shaw, 1790)
- Order
- Psittaciformes
- Family
- Psittaculidae
- Genus
- Lathamus
Range and habitat
Genetic evidence has shown that the swift parrot is a single, genetically mixed and nomadic population that moves around the landscape each year. Because they are nomadic, swift parrots can occur across a very large potential area, but settlement at a given location depends on the local availability of food. However, in the Tasmanian breeding range, swift parrots need both food and suitable nesting sites to occur in close proximity in order to nest at a given site. The swift parrot migrates each year across Bass Strait between Tasmania and the mainland of Australia. They arrive in Tasmania during September and return to south-eastern Australia during March and April. They can be found as far north as south-eastern Queensland and as far west as Adelaide in South Australia, although recent sightings have been restricted to the south-eastern part of the state. Because swift parrots are nomadic migrants, their occurrence at any one location are difficult to predict. Although they will repeatedly return to the same locations, local occurrence may only happen intermittently depending on whether or not food (flowering trees) is available in a given year.<p>BirdLife International has identified the following sites as being important for swift parrots: Usually inhabiting: forests, woodlands, agricultural land and plantations, and also in urban areas.
- Breeding range
- AU : e Tasmania (se Australia)
- Non-breeding range
- se QLD to c VIC (se Australia)
- Migration
- Complete migrants
Behavior
Migration pattern: Complete migrants.
Conservation
Population trend: declining.
- Population trend
- declining
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
Other Birds
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A medium-sized bird of montane forest canopy. Slate gray color with black wing and tail. Male has a black face whereas the female is more striking with all black underparts. Female is distinctive, but male is similar to Common, Papuan and Gray-headed Cicadabird males but has more black on the wing. Song, a duet. The male gives a downslurred, nasal “wiiiuuuuuu!” and female joins in with 3-4 harsh rasping notes “rak-rak-rak!”.
Loggerhead Shrike
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Black-masked bandit of open areas with some bushes and trees. Bold black, white, and gray pattern is distinctive; also note stout hooked bill. Usually seen singly or in pairs, often perched conspicuously on a treetop or utility wire. Fairly widespread in southern and western North America, but never abundant, and declining over much of range. Carnivorous habits make shrikes unique among passerines; they feed on rodents and small birds. Undulating flight; watch for white patches in the wings. May overlap with Northern Shrike in winter; Loggerhead is slightly smaller, darker, and lacks white around the eye.
Spot-breasted Antvireo
Dysithamnus stictothorax
Big-headed chunky antbird with a heavy and slightly hooked bill and shortish tail. Found in the lower and middle levels of forests and forest edges. Males have a gray head and and a white spotted face and are olive-brown above and yellowish below.They have dark spots on the throat, and white spots on the wings coverts. Females have a rufous crown and less distinct spots on the wings coverts. The song is a melodious series of ascending and descending notes.
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