Swift Parrot What is a Swift Parrot?

The Swift Parrot, also known as the Red-faced or Red-shouldered Parrot, is a small green and yellow parrot with long pointed wings and distinctive long, thin red tail. It has a large red face patch and a dark blue patch on its forehead. It is about 25cm in length, and the female is slightly duller than the male.

The swift parrot is very active and noisy. It is the fastest parrot in the world.

The swift parrot breeds in Tasmania and migrates to the south-eastern Australian mainland in autumn and winter to feed. It returns to Tasmania in the spring to breed. On the mainland, they are found in dry sclerophyll forests and woodlands. In Tasmania, they are often among Tasmanian Blue Gum.

While on the mainland, they are nomadic flying from place to place in search of food. They feed mainly on nectar of flowering eucalypts trees. They also eat psyllids and lerps, seeds, and flowers. They are busy feeders, sometimes hanging upside down to reach their food.

The decline of the swift parrot is due to habitat loss, reduced food due to droughts, competition from introduced bees for food resources, predation by cats, and illegal capture by humans for aviculture.

There are only 2,000 in the wild, and they are projected to become extinct by 2031 due to predation and habitat loss.

Endangered Australian Animals