The Critically Endangered Swift Parrot is mostly bright green, with a dark-blue patch on the crown. Breeds in Tasmania and migrates to the mainland for winter.
The usual contact call in flight is a loud, metallic ‘chit chit’ repeated three or four times in succession and soft chattering when feeding. Bird call recorded by: Fred Van Gessel
The Swift Parrot is a slim, medium-sized parrot with a streamlined shape in flight, angular pointed wings and a long pointed purple-red tail. The body is mostly bright green, with a dark blue patch on the crown. The forehead to throat is crimson and there is a crimson patch at the bend of the wing. The female is slightly duller, with a creamy underwing bar.
In flight, the bright green body, dark flight feathers and scarlet underwing coverts are prominent. They are noisy, active and showy, with a very fast, direct flight.
Swift Parrots are migratory birds, endemic to south-eastern Australia. They breed in Tasmania and are found mainly in southern and central Victoria and eastern New South Wales in winter.
Habitat: Woodland, Forest, Grassland, Urban
Swift Parrots are found in dry sclerophyll forests and woodlands, suburban parks and gardens, and flowering fruit trees. In Tasmania, they are often among Tasmanian Blue Gum, Eucalyptus globulus.
Swift Parrots breed only in Tasmania and then fly across Bass Strait to forage on the flowering eucalypts in open box–ironbark forests of the Australian mainland. While on the mainland, they are nomadic, spending weeks or months at some sites and only a few hours at others, determined by the supply of nectar. They roost communally, often in the same tree each night. They are almost always in trees, coming to the ground only to drink.
Swift Parrots feed in the outer canopy of flowering eucalypts, eating mainly nectar, as well as some psyllids and lerps, seeds, and flowers. They are active and agile when feeding, often hanging upside down.
At sites where food is abundant, Swift Parrots can congregate in large flocks and associate with smaller lorikeets and honeyeaters.
In dry years, when the eucalypts’ flowering is poor, Swift Parrots are forced to travel far and wide to find enough food. Some birds fly as far as coastal south-east Queensland, making the world’s longest known parrot migration.
Swift Parrots breed only in eastern Tasmania – around October to December – to coincide with the flowering of the Tasmanian Blue Gum. They nest in tree hollows or the trunk, branch or spout of a living or dead gum. Many pairs breed close together and may return to the same nest site each year.
Breeding season is from September to April.
