Swift Parrot

Lathamus discolor

The swift parrot (Lathamus discolor), is a species of broad-tailed parrot, only found in southeastern Australia. The species breeds in Tasmania during the summer and migrates north to south eastern mainland Australia from Griffith-Warialda in New South Wales and west to Adelaide in the winter. It is a nomadic migrant, and it settles in an area only when there is food available.The species is critically endangered, and the severe predation of introduced sugar gliders (Petaurus breviceps) on breeding females and nests in some locations has demonstrated an unexpected but potentially serious new threat. Sugar glider predation is worst where logging is severe; these threats interact in a synergistic manner. Genetic evidence for the effective population size suggests that the minimum potential population size is now fewer than 300 individual swift parrots. The genetic evidence supports the results of earlier studies that use demographic information about swift parrots to show the species could be extinct by 2031.