Swift Parrot

Swift Parrot

Lathamus discolor

Silhouette: Farelli (photo), John E. McCormack, Michael G. Harvey, Brant C. Faircloth, Nicholas G. Crawford, Travis C. Glenn, Robb T. Brumfield & T. Michael Keesey · PhyloPic

LCNTVUENCRCritically Endangered Endemic
Daily sighting probability <5% · Rare
at Hobart

In 3 days <5%

6 Verified sightings at Hobart
83 In 1 park From 2019 to 2026
September Best month
☀️ Diurnal When it's spotted

About the Swift Parrot

The swift parrot (Lathamus discolor), also known by the palawa kani name swift waylitja, is a species of broad-tailed parrot, found only in southeastern Australia. The species breeds in Tasmania during the summer and migrates north to southeastern 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 Swift Parrot was voted 2023 Bird of the Year in The Guardian Australia and BirdLife Australia's biennial poll.

The species is critically endangered, and the severe predation by introduced sugar gliders (Petaurus breviceps) on breeding females and nests in some locations has demonstrated an unexpected but potentially serious new threat. Genetic evidence for the effective population size suggests that the minimum potential population size is now around 300–500 individual swift parrots. This supports the results of earlier studies that use demographic information about swift parrots to predict that the species could be extinct by 2031.

Habitat for the critically endangered swift parrot is being "knowingly destroyed" by logging because of government failures to manage the species' survival. Wikipedia →

Sounds

Uncertain0:09

Australia · 2026

© Christine Seeliger · XC1184645 · CC BY 4.0

Call0:41

Australia · 2025

© Marc Anderson · XC1015896 · CC BY-NC-ND 4.0

Call0:30

Australia · 2019

© Ramit Singal · XC502302 · CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Global Distribution

Parks Where Found

# Park Country Daily sighting probability
1 Maria Island National Park 🇦🇺 Australia
~20%

More parks will be added in future updates.

Cities Where Found

# City Country Daily sighting probability
1 Hobart 🇦🇺 Australia
<5%
2 Melbourne 🇦🇺 Australia
<5%
3 Sydney 🇦🇺 Australia
<5%

Zoos & Centres Where Found

# Zoo / Centre Country
1 Skansen 🇸🇪 Sweden In captivity
2 Antwerp Zoo 🇧🇪 Belgium In captivity
3 Berlin Zoological Garden 🇩🇪 Germany In captivity
4 Wrocław Zoological Garden 🇵🇱 Poland In captivity
5 Hobart Zoo and Aquarium 🇦🇺 Australia In captivity
6 Wilhelma 🇩🇪 Germany In captivity
7 Schönbrunn Zoo 🇦🇹 Austria In captivity
8 Havana Zoo 🇨🇺 Cuba In captivity
9 Vogelpark Avifauna 🇳🇱 Netherlands In captivity
10 Adelaide Zoo 🇦🇺 Australia In captivity
11 Featherdale Sydney Wildlife Park 🇦🇺 Australia In captivity
12 Africarium 🇵🇱 Poland In captivity
13 Haus des Meeres 🇦🇹 Austria In captivity
14 Aquarium Berlin 🇩🇪 Germany In captivity
15 Baltic Sea Science Center 🇸🇪 Sweden In captivity
16 Aquatopia 🇧🇪 Belgium In captivity
17 terrarium ogrodu zoologicznego we Wrocławiu 🇵🇱 Poland In captivity
18 Zoodoo Wildlife Park 🇦🇺 Australia In captivity

Before you go

What are the chances of seeing a Swift Parrot in Hobart?

Rare

Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Swift Parrot sighting in Hobart on a given day, based on 6 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 76th most-seen of the 79 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to under 5%, if each day is a fresh chance.

When is the best time to see a Swift Parrot in Hobart?

Any time of year

In every month with enough records, under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Swift Parrot in Hobart on a given day, so our monthly data shows no clear season.

What time of day is best to see a Swift Parrot?

Between 11 am and 2 pm

Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Swift Parrot sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.

Is Hobart the best place to see a Swift Parrot?

Yes

Of the 3 cities where we can rate Swift Parrot sightings, Hobart has the highest daily chance: under 5%. Next come Melbourne (Australia, under 5%) and Sydney (Australia, under 5%).

Which relatives of the Swift Parrot live in Hobart?

Same family: Psittacidae

The closest relatives of the Swift Parrot that you can see in Hobart (family Psittacidae, New World and African Parrots) are Sulphur-crested Cockatoo (about 40%), Green Rosella (about 20%) and Coconut Lorikeet (about 20%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.

Where does the Swift Parrot sighting chance come from?

GBIF citizen-science records

It is estimated from how often the Swift Parrot is recorded against all the birds logged in Hobart (6 verified sightings), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.

← Back to Hobart