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12

Swift Parrot (Lathamus discolor) Alternate name(s): "Red-shouldered Parrot", "Swift-flying Parakeet", "Swift-flying Lorikeet" Size: 23-26 cm Weight: 45-75 g

Australia: Family Group 12 Family Group 12 Table Palm Cockatoo Red-tailed Black-Cockatoo Glossy Black-Cockatoo Yellow-tailed Black-Cockatoo Short-billed Black-Cockatoo Long-billed Black-Cockatoo Gang-gang Cockatoo Long-billed Corella Western Corella Little Corella Cockatiel Sulphur-crested Cockatoo Major Mitchell's Cockatoo Galah Eclectus Parrot Rainbow Lorikeet Red-collared Lorikeet Scaly-breasted Lorikeet Purple-crowned Lorikeet Varied Lorikeet Musk Lorikeet Little Lorikeet Double-eyed Fig-Parrot Australian King-Parrot Red-winged Parrot Princess Parrot Superb Parrot Regent Parrot Green Rosella Crimson Rosella Western Rosella Eastern Rosella Pale-headed Rosella Northern Rosella Red-capped Parrot Australian Ringneck Red-rumped Parrot Mulga Parrot Hooded Parrot Blue Bonnet Bourke's Parrot Budgerigar Swift Parrot Eastern Ground Parrot Night Parrot Blue-winged Parrot Scarlet-chested Parrot Rock Parrot Turquoise Parrot Elegant Parrot Family group table Index of bird names Habitat pages Key plants Thumbnails page Birds home page

Description     Classification     Distribution     Sightings     Photos     Breeding     Nest     Eggs     Behaviour     Food     Call/s

Physical description Click here for a physical description Swift Parrots are relatively small parrots. They are primarily green (front: chest, belly, vent; back: back of the head, mantle, upperwings, rump, uppertail coverts). The face (frons, throat) is bright-red, with a yellow gape; the cap is blue, while the cheeks are turquoise-blue. The shoulders have some yellow and red patches; the wings have a blue leading edge and dark-grey flight feathers. The undertail coverts are reddish, the tail is brownish. In-flight, the underwings show a prominent red bar, a turquoise shoulder patch and brownish-grey flight feathers. The bill is the colour of skin. Female Swift Parrots have duller colours than males, in particular they have less red on the face. In addition, males have salmon-coloured undertail coverts, whereas those of females are red. The irises of both sexes are orange; the legs and feet are grey. Juvenile Swift Parrots resemble females, but with dark irises.

Taxonomy, classification See Swift Parrot at Wikipedia .

Range, habitat, finding this species Click here for information on habitat and range The overall distribution of this species can be assessed based on sighting reports submitted by birdwatchers to ebird.org . The global distribution of the Swift Parrot is available HERE . Swift Parrots are endemic to Australia. They breed only in central Tasmania, while outside their breeding season they will disperse all over Tasmania and to the south-eastern Australian mainland. There they are usually found in most of VIC and the southern-most part of inland NSW. However, they do migrate further North, along the NSW coastline and the Great Dividing Range, up to about the Brisbane, QLD, area. Their movements northward on the Australian continent are not well-known. Swift Parrots are usually found in relatively dry, open forest, but they enter urban environments, such as parks, as well. When in flower, they have a preference for Swamp Mahogany.

Sightings Click here for sighting information Swift Parrots have been spotted by us at various locations along the NSW Central Coast in June 2011. Because of flowering Swamp Mahogany trees there at the time, Chain Valley Bay was one of the birds' favourite spots; the photos presented below were all obtained there. A. Morris's help with these observations is greatly appreciated. A. Allnutt reports spotting Swift Parrots in Watson, ACT, in September 2018. Are you interested in recent Swift Parrot sightings? Please check out the "birdlines" for NSW , VIC and/or TAS .

Photos

ADULT

MALE

Adult male(?) Swift Parrot feeding on the nectar of a Swamp Mahogany tree
[Chain Valley Bay South, NSW, June 2011]

Adult male Swift Parrot, slightly different posture
[Chain Valley Bay South, NSW, June 2011]

With some Swift Parrot acrobatics one can approach the same flowers this way...
[Chain Valley Bay South, NSW, June 2011]

FEMALE

Near-frontal view of an adult female(?) Swift Parrot
[Chain Valley Bay South, NSW, June 2011]

Sex unknown

Seen from above, even adult Swift Parrots - although so colourful - can appear almost entirely green
[Chain Valley Bay South, NSW, June 2011]

IMMATURE/JUVENILE

This Swift Parrot, with very little red in its face, is a juvenile bird
[Chain Valley Bay South, NSW, June 2011]

The same Swift Parrot as shown above, now reaching for a twig with a half-eaten leaf, possibly to pick lerps from the underside of the leaf
[Chain Valley Bay South, NSW, June 2011]

Juvenile Swift Parrot climbing to the tip of a twig
[Chain Valley Bay South, NSW, June 2011]

Behaviour

Social behaviour: Communal

Mobility: Dispersive

Elementary unit: Flock

 

Often seen together with various types of lorikeets.

Food, Diet

Apart from nectar, Swift Parrots also feed on lerps.

Swift Parrot licking nectar; it appears that this young bird does quite know yet which flowers/buds contain nectar and which don't...
[Chain Valley Bay South, NSW, June 2011]

Call(s)/Song

For this species we have recorded the following call(s)/song. The interpretation of their meaning is our own; comments and suggestions for improvement are welcome.

swiftp_aa_20180925.m4a

(ACT)

Various (flock)

© AA

These pages are largely based on our own observations and those of our contributors. The structure of these bird pages is explained HERE. For more salient facts on any bird species please refer to a field guide.

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Disclaimer: Comments are always welcome. We give no guarantee that the information presented on these pages is always correct or up-to-date. External links are marked as such and we take no responsibility for the contents of external pages. All images on this site are protected by copyright & used by permission of the respective owners. If you wish to reproduce them or any of the material presented on this web site, please contact us:          Last updated: Mon, 21 January 2019, 1:19 -06:00