swift parrot

plural swift parrots

1. A true parrot, of the endangered species Lathamus discolor, which breeds in Tasmania and migrates to mainland south-eastern Australia.

   A striking example of the risks of ignoring temporal processes comes from work on the endangered Swift Parrot in north-eastern Victoria.

   2005, David Lindenmayer, Mark A. Burgman, Practical Conservation Biology, page 280

   2 more examples

   The swift parrot (Lathamus discolor) is a case in point. This small (24 cm) green parrot breeds on the eastern two thirds of the island of Tasmania, approximately 300 km across the Bass Strait from the southeast coast of mainland Australia, and migrates in the southern autumn (February to April) to southeastern Australia (Blakers et al. 1984 and Fig. 3-2).

   1996, Hugh Dingle, Migration: The Biology of Life on the Move, page 43

   In Australia the swift parrots (Psittacidae) and in Hawaii the 'I'iwi honeycreepers (Drepanididae) have convergently evolved nectarivory, and coexist with honeyeaters.

   2011, George R. McGhee, Convergent Evolution: Limited Forms Most Beautiful, page 147