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
In 3 days <5%
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 →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Maria Island National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia |
More parks will be added in future updates.
| # | Zoo / Centre | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Skansen | 🇸🇪 Sweden | |
| 2 | Antwerp Zoo | 🇧🇪 Belgium | |
| 3 | Berlin Zoological Garden | 🇩🇪 Germany | |
| 4 | Wrocław Zoological Garden | 🇵🇱 Poland | |
| 5 | Hobart Zoo and Aquarium | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 6 | Wilhelma | 🇩🇪 Germany | |
| 7 | Schönbrunn Zoo | 🇦🇹 Austria | |
| 8 | Havana Zoo | 🇨🇺 Cuba | |
| 9 | Vogelpark Avifauna | 🇳🇱 Netherlands | |
| 10 | Adelaide Zoo | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 11 | Featherdale Sydney Wildlife Park | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 12 | Africarium | 🇵🇱 Poland | |
| 13 | Haus des Meeres | 🇦🇹 Austria | |
| 14 | Aquarium Berlin | 🇩🇪 Germany | |
| 15 | Baltic Sea Science Center | 🇸🇪 Sweden | |
| 16 | Aquatopia | 🇧🇪 Belgium | |
| 17 | terrarium ogrodu zoologicznego we Wrocławiu | 🇵🇱 Poland | |
| 18 | Zoodoo Wildlife Park | 🇦🇺 Australia |
Rare
Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Swift Parrot sighting in Melbourne on a given day, based on 72 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 181st most-seen of the 236 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to under 5%, if each day is a fresh chance.
Any time of year
In every month with enough records, under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Swift Parrot in Melbourne on a given day, so our monthly data shows no clear season.
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.
Among the best
Of the 3 cities where we can rate Swift Parrot sightings, Melbourne ranks 2nd at under 5%, level with the leaders once rounded. The best odds are in Hobart (Australia, under 5%).
Same family: Psittacidae
The closest relatives of the Swift Parrot that you can see in Melbourne (family Psittacidae, New World and African Parrots) are Coconut Lorikeet (about 90%), Sulphur-crested Cockatoo (about 40%) and Galah (about 30%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Swift Parrot is recorded against all the birds logged in Melbourne (72 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.
