The Vertebrate Fauna of Jenolan Karst Conservation Reserve: Final

SWIFT PARROT LATHAMUS DISCOLOR
EPBC Act: Endangered TSC Act: Endangered Priority in Area: Low
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Occurrence in the Survey Area
Extremely rare visitor with no recent records. Swift parrot are
listed as uncommon in Eddison (2008). They were not
recorded in the current survey and there are no records within
the Atlas of NSW Wildlife. There is little suitable habitat within
the reserve and any individuals sighted are likely to be passing
through on their regular winter migration.
Regional Conservation Significance
The swift parrot is rare and patchily distributed in the region,
with important areas being the Illawarra Coastal Plain, the
Swift parrot. Photo © H. Cook
Cumberland Plain and Burragorang Valleys (DEC 2007). It
also occurs in the Capertee Valley and in the Central Coast. It
is a non-breeding visitor from Tasmania arriving in April and departing in early September. In this
region the swift parrot primarily feeds in the canopy of flowering eucalypts (Higgins 1999). Movements
of this species are highly nomadic due to the variable nature of the flowering of its favoured food trees,
sometimes not returning to the same locality for a number of years. Within the region, favoured food
trees include white box (E. albens) and mugga ironbark (E. sideroxylon). These trees do not occur
within JKCR, although flowering Eucalypts may on occasion attract swift parrots en-route to further
north or in years when key flowering resources elsewhere in their range have failed. In light of this,
JKCR does not contribute to the regional conservation of this species.
Threats in the Survey Area
No threats identified.
Management Considerations
No management required.
The Vertebrate Fauna of Jenolan Karst Conservation Reserve