Swift Parrot Recovery Plan 2001-2005
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TAG Operational Structure
PARROT TAXON ADVISORY GROUP (TAG) Regional Collection Plan 5th Edition 2020-2025 Sustainability of Parrot Populations in AZA Facilities ...................................................................... 1 Mission/Objectives/Strategies......................................................................................................... 2 TAG Operational Structure .............................................................................................................. 3 Steering Committee .................................................................................................................... 3 TAG Advisors ............................................................................................................................... 4 SSP Coordinators ......................................................................................................................... 5 Hot Topics: TAG Recommendations ................................................................................................ 8 Parrots as Ambassador Animals .................................................................................................. 9 Interactive Aviaries Housing Psittaciformes .............................................................................. 10 Private Aviculture ...................................................................................................................... 13 Communication ........................................................................................................................ -
Australia: Tasmania and the Orange- Bellied Parrot 24 – 29 October 2020 24 – 29 October 2021
AUSTRALIA: TASMANIA AND THE ORANGE- BELLIED PARROT 24 – 29 OCTOBER 2020 24 – 29 OCTOBER 2021 The handsome Orange-bellied Parrot is the primary target on this tour. www.birdingecotours.com [email protected] 2 | ITINERARY Australia: Tasmania and the Orange-bellied Parrot Adjoined to the mainland until the end of the last glacial period about ten thousand years ago, Tasmania is both geographically and genetically isolated from Australia. Through the millennia this island has developed its own unique set of plants and animals, including twelve avian endemics that include Forty-spotted Pardalote, Green Rosella, and Strong-billed Honeyeater. Beyond the endemics Tasmania also harbors several species which winter on the mainland and breed on Tasmania, such as Swift Parrot and Orange-bellied Parrot. These two breeding endemics are globally Critically Endangered (IUCN) and major targets on this tour. Forty-spotted Pardalote is one of the Tasmanian endemics we will target on this tour. Our search for the endemics and breeding specialties of Tasmania is set within a stunning backdrop of rugged coastlines, tall evergreen sclerophyll forests, alpine heathlands, and cool temperate rainforests, undoubtedly enriching our experience here. In addition, due to the lack of foxes many marsupials are notably more numerous in Tasmania, and we should be able to observe several of these unique animals during our stay. For those wishing to continue exploring Australia, this tour can be combined with our set of Australia tours: Australia: from the Outback to the Wet Tropics, Australia: Top End Birding, and Australia: Southwest Specialties. All four Australia tours could be combined. We can also arrange other extensions (e.g., sightseeing trips to Sydney, Uluru, etc., and pelagic trips). -
National Recovery Plan for the Swift Parrot (Lathamus Discolor)
National Recovery Plan for the Swift Parrot (Lathamus discolor) January 2019 The Species Profile and Threats Database pages linked to this recovery plan is obtainable from: http://www.environment.gov.au/cgi-bin/sprat/public/sprat.pl © Copyright Commonwealth of Australia, 2019. The National Recovery Plan for the Swift Parrot (Lathamus discolor) is licensed by the Commonwealth of Australia for use under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International licence with the exception of the Coat of Arms of the Commonwealth of Australia, the logo of the agency responsible for publishing the report, content supplied by third parties, and any images depicting people. For licence conditions see: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/. This report should be attributed as ‘National Recovery Plan for the Swift Parrot (Lathamus discolor), Commonwealth of Australia 2019’. The Commonwealth of Australia has made all reasonable efforts to identify content supplied by third parties using the following format ‘© Copyright, [name of third party] ’. Disclaimer While reasonable efforts have been made to ensure that the contents of this publication are factually correct, the Commonwealth does not accept responsibility for the accuracy or completeness of the contents, and shall not be liable for any loss or damage that may be occasioned directly or indirectly through the use of, or reliance on, the contents of this publication. Image credits Front Cover: Swift Parrot. (© Copyright, Chris Tzaros). 2 Table of contents 1 Summary ..........................................................................................................4 -
Swift Parrot and Forty-Spotted Pardalote
Caption here. Swift Parrots are bright green and have red underwings and a long pointy tail. They get their name from their swift flight. a. Photo: Chris Tzaros SWIFT PARROTS NEED YOU TO LOOK AFTER YOUR BLUE AND BLACK GUMS c. Swift Parrots (Lathamus discolor) migrate each year from mainland Australia to Tasmania, breeding in late spring and summer when Blue gums and Black gums Nesting trees can be of any are flowering. sort of eucalypt as long as they have suitable hollows (a). Swift Parrots can only nest where there are old eucalypts Flowering Blue gum (b) and containing hollows, and where they can feed nearby on Black gum (c) trees are both the blossoms of Blue gum (Eucalyptus globulus) and important for foraging. Black gum (E. ovata). The more of these gums in the Photo: Rob Wiltshire area, and the closer they are to tree-hollows suitable for nesting, the better for the parrots. Swift Parrots have declined dramatically to fewer than 1,000 breeding pairs, chiefly because their forest habitat has b. been cleared and altered. All the main forest types used by breeding Swift Parrots have been affected in Tasmania; for instance, less than 30% of the original area of dry Blue gum forest remains, and only 3% of Black gum forest. Another significant threat is death or injury when their rapid flight causes them to collide with windows, fences and overhead wires. Changes to habitat can lead to increased competition from other birds which use tree-hollows for nesting in degraded areas. Because their survival is so tied to their breeding habitat, the fate of Swift Parrots is in our hands - every little action that we take today can go a long way towards ensuring that Photo: Chris Tzaros future generations continue to see and hear these birds. -
Swift Parrot (Lathamus Discolor)
Action Statement Flora and Fauna Guarantee Act 1988 No. 169 Swift Parrot Lathamus discolor Description and distribution The Swift Parrot Lathamus discolor Shaw 1790 (Psittaciformes: Platycercidae) is a non-breeding winter migrant to the mainland from Tasmania. It has a restricted breeding area in the east of Tasmania, arriving on the mainland in autumn to spend the winter period in foraging groups inhabiting forests and woodlands in south-east Australia. Swift Parrots are small to medium size birds reaching a length of 245mm, including a 120mm tail. Sexes are similar, except that the female is generally duller than the male. General plumage is green. Crown and ear coverts are dark blue and the face is red with yellow margins. Underparts are lighter and paler than back. Shoulder and underwing coverts are red, eye yellow and bill a horn colour. Brown (1989) and Higgins (1999) give Swift Parrot Latham discolor a full description of the species. (Photo: Mike Carter) Habitat In Victoria, the over-wintering habitat of the Swift Parrot is eucalypt forests and woodlands consisting primarily of the winter-flowering Grey Box (Eucalyptus microcarpa), Red Ironbark (Eucalyptus tricarpa), Mugga Ironbark (Eucalyptus sideroxylon) (far north-east Victoria), Yellow Gum (Eucalyptus leucoxylon) and White Box (Eucalyptus albens) (Brown 1989; Emison et al. 1987, C. Tzaros pers. comm.). They feed in gregarious flocks on nectar where eucalypts are in blossom or where lerps/psyllids are common. Blakers et al. (1985) describes Swift Parrots feeding on lerp psyllids amongst Red Gum (Eucalyptus camaldulensis) as Distribution in Victoria well as the aforementioned species. + before 1970, since 1970 [source: DSE 2004] In general terms, Grey Box flowers in autumn when the birds first arrive, followed by the Ironbarks with Yellow Gum and White Box often flowering Conservation status late prior to birds departing for Tasmania. -
Winter Habitat Use by the Endangered, Migratory Swift Parrot (Lathamus Discolor) in New South Wales
CSIRO PUBLISHING www.publish.csiro.au/journals/emu Emu, 2008, 108, 81–89 Winter habitat use by the endangered, migratory Swift Parrot (Lathamus discolor) in New South Wales Debra L. Saunders A,B and Robert HeinsohnA AThe Fenner School of Environment and Society, The Australian National University, Canberra, ACT 0200, Australia. BCorresponding author. Email: [email protected] Abstract. Migratory birds are dependent on a combination of suitable wintering, migration and breeding habitats. Identification and protection of these habitats is essential for the conservation of the birds. The endangered Swift Parrot (Psittacidae:Lathamus discolor) migrates north from Tasmania to south-eastern mainland Australia in search of suitable winter food resources. This 5-year study examines the use of known winter foraging habitats by Swift Parrots on a state- wide scale not previously attempted. Swift Parrots used a diversity of winter foraging habitats in regions of the coast and western slopes of New South Wales each year, including several habitats that occur in endangered ecological communi- ties. The abundance of Swift Parrots in New South Wales fluctuated significantly between years and regions, with coastal areas providing important drought-refuge habitats for a large proportion of the population. Over half of all foraging sites were used repeatedly, highlighting their likely importance for conservation. Landscapes containing winter foraging habitat included scattered trees, remnant vegetation and continuous forests, and Swift Parrots foraged extensively on lerp and nectar from a diversity of tree species within these. The occurrence of Swift Parrots at foraging sites was primarily asso- ciated with the abundance of lerp, nectar and non-aggressive competitors. -
Of Parrots 3 Other Major Groups of Parrots 16
ONE What are the Parrots and Where Did They Come From? The Evolutionary History of the Parrots CONTENTS The Marvelous Diversity of Parrots 3 Other Major Groups of Parrots 16 Reconstructing Evolutionary History 5 Box 1. Ancient DNA Reveals the Evolutionary Relationships of the Fossils, Bones, and Genes 5 Carolina Parakeet 19 The Evolution of Parrots 8 How and When the Parrots Diversified 25 Parrots’ Ancestors and Closest Some Parrot Enigmas 29 Relatives 8 What Is a Budgerigar? 29 The Most Primitive Parrot 13 How Have Different Body Shapes Evolved in The Most Basal Clade of Parrots 15 the Parrots? 32 THE MARVELOUS DIVERSITY OF PARROTS The parrots are one of the most marvelously diverse groups of birds in the world. They daz- zle the beholder with every color in the rainbow (figure 3). They range in size from tiny pygmy parrots weighing just over 10 grams to giant macaws weighing over a kilogram. They consume a wide variety of foods, including fruit, seeds, nectar, insects, and in a few cases, flesh. They produce large repertoires of sounds, ranging from grating squawks to cheery whistles to, more rarely, long melodious songs. They inhabit a broad array of habitats, from lowland tropical rainforest to high-altitude tundra to desert scrubland to urban jungle. They range over every continent but Antarctica, and inhabit some of the most far-flung islands on the planet. They include some of the most endangered species on Earth and some of the most rapidly expanding and aggressive invaders of human-altered landscapes. Increasingly, research into the lives of wild parrots is revealing that they exhibit a corresponding variety of mating systems, communication signals, social organizations, mental capacities, and life spans. -
Swift Parrot
Husbandry Guidelines for Photograph by Greg Miles, July 2011 Swift Parrot Lathamus discolor (Aves: Psittacidae) Date By From Version 2019 Crystal Capach RARES Fndn v 1 WORK HEALTH AND SAFETY RISKS Species Risk Category The Swift Parrot (Lathamus discolor) is considered a low risk, or innocuous parrot. The largest risk of harm would occur by the beak through biting, so care should be taken whilst handling or restraining the bird to reduce the chances of being bitten. WHS SUMMARY Though generally non aggressive in nature, injury may still occur through mishandling the bird, or through something as simple as working within the enclosure. A keeper must always take precautions whilst working to ensure their own safety and the safety of their fellow workers. If it happens that a serious injury occurs within the workplace, the regulator must be notified immediately in accordance with the Work Health and Safety Act 2011 (Workcover NSW). Workplace Risk Types 1. Biological There is a risk of zoonotic diseases being contracted when coming into contact with this species, as well as other bird species within the Psittacidae family. Namely, the highest zoonotic risk is the bacterial disease psittacosis, also known as ornithosis and chlamydiosis. Transmitted mainly through the inhalation of contaminated airborne faecal matter, feather dander, or beak-to-mouth contact, this disease can be diagnosed through the flu-like symptoms and respiratory tract illness presented. Maintaining proper hygiene practices and regular screening of birds should help prevent the zoonotic spread of this disease (Harkinezhad et al. 2009; West 2011). This disease as well as several others will be discussed further in Section 8. -
Phylogenetic Relationships Within Parrots (Psittacidae) Inferred from Mitochondrial Cytochrome-B Gene Sequences
ZOOLOGICAL SCIENCE 23: 191–198 (2006) 2006 Zoological Society of Japan Phylogenetic Relationships Within Parrots (Psittacidae) Inferred from Mitochondrial Cytochrome-b Gene Sequences Dwi Astuti1,2*†, Noriko Azuma2, Hitoshi Suzuki2 and Seigo Higashi2 1Zoological Division, Research Center for Biology, Jl. Raya Jakarta-Bogor Km 46, Cibinong, 16911, PO. Box 25 Bogor, Indonesia 2Graduate School of Environmental Earth Science, Hokkaido University, Kitaku Kita 10 Nishi 5, Sapporo 060-0810, Japan Blood and tissue samples of 40 individuals including 27 parrot species (15 genera; 3 subfamilies) were collected in Indonesia. Their phylogenetic relationships were inferred from 907 bp of the mito- chondrial cytochrome-b gene, using the maximum-parsimony method, the maximum-likelihood method and the neighbor-joining method with Kimura two-parameter distance. The phylogenetic analysis revealed that (1) cockatoos (subfamily Cacatuinae) form a monophyletic sister group to other parrot groups; (2) within the genus Cacatua, C. goffini and C. sanguinea form a sister group to a clade containing other congeners; (3) subfamily Psittacinae emerged as paraphyletic, consist- ing of three clades, with a clade of Psittaculirostris grouping with subfamily Loriinae rather than with other Psittacinae; (4) lories and lorikeets (subfamily Loriinae) emerged as monophyletic, with Charmosyna placentis a basal sister group to other Loriinae, which comprised the subclades Lorius; Trichoglossus+Eos; and Chalcopsitta+Pseudeos. Key words: phylogeny, parrots, Psittacidae, mitochondrial, cytochrome-b chromosome (Christidist et al., 1991b) data suggested that INTRODUCTION cockatoos are distinct from lorikeets and other parrots, The bird group of parrots (Order Psittaciformes) com- which seem to be closely related to one another, del Hoyo prises approximately 350 species in 83 genera (Smith, et al. -
Swift Parrot (Lathamus Discolor)
Information Sheet NATIVE PLANTS AND ANIMALS THREATENED SPECIES AND COMMUNITIES OF THE ACT Swift Parrot (Lathamus discolor) A vulnerable species Issued: 4 March 2005 The Swift Parrot is a small, streamlined, bright grass- The species breeds only in Tasmania where it nests only green parrot, about 250 mm in length. It has a dusky red in hollows in mature and senescent eucalypts. It spike-shaped tail, red forehead and throat bordered by migrates north to mainland Australia over winter, yellow, and blue crown and cheeks. following abundances of flowering eucalypts and lerps as they occur. Small numbers of the species are recorded intermittently in the ACT. Grassy Blue Gum (E. globulus) forest in eastern Tasmania is the preferred habitat of the Swift Parrot in the breeding season. On the mainland, the species inhabits mainly dry open eucalypt forests and woodlands, usually box-ironbark communities and also Yellow Box–Red Gum woodland. Critical local habitat features include: I winter flowering eucalypts; and I eucalypts carrying lerps. In the ACT, the species is likely to occur anywhere below 700 m. ACT records of the species over the last 25 years are mainly from inner Canberra suburbs, Gungahlin and Hall. CONSERVATION THREATS Nationally, the range of the Swift Parrot has been reduced by half. The principal causes are loss of breeding and feeding habitat (Blue Gum Eucalyptus globulus, Messmate E. obliqua or Swamp Gum E. ovata The Swift Parrot is mainly an arboreal feeder, usually in forest) in Tasmania due to clearing for agriculture and the outer canopy of Eucalyptus trees. Their main food is urban development, and forestry operations. -
Distrmution and TAXONOMIC NOTES on SOME PARROTS from WESTERN AUSTRALIA by JULIAN FO~, Western Australian Institute of Technology
THE S.A. ORNITHOLOGIST 99 DISTRmUTION AND TAXONOMIC NOTES ON SOME PARROTS FROM WESTERN AUSTRALIA By JULIAN FO~, Western Australian Institute of Technology. SUMMARY species as occurring in the tall mallee, Euca The distribution limits of Platycercus lcterotis, lyptus oleosa, woodland along the Hampton Neophema bourkii, Psephoius ·haematogaster Scarp near Madura. There seems no valid narethae and Pezoporus wallicus flaviventris are reason to doubt this record. outlined. Geographic variation in Platycercus icterotis and Pezoporus wallicus is described. The generic status of the Bourke Parrot and Night Variation Parrot are discussed: the placement of the Bourke The Western Rosella is usually divided Parrot in N eopsephotus is questioned; the relation ship between the Night and Ground Parrots is into two subspecies, viz. nominate icterotis considered to be close enough for the two to be Kuhl in the wet sclerophyll forest block of placed in the genus Pezoporus. the South-West, and xanthogenys Salvadori in the eastern and northern parts of the PLATYCERCUS ICTEROTIS. species' range (Condon, 1941; Cain, 1955; Western Rosella. Serventy and Whittell, 1962). In xantho Distribution genys the green and yellow plumage is paler The eastern limit of the range of the and the distal margins of the back feathers Western Rosella is usually given as Lake are red instead of green. These differences Dundas (Serventy and Whittell, 1962). are due to an overall decrease in the Tyndall McColl (1929), however, reported the effect, less deposition of yellow carotenoid, 100 THE S.A. ORNITHOLOGIST and the replacement of yellow by red caro Several observations are from the southern tenoid pigment. -
Resolving a Phylogenetic Hypothesis for Parrots: Implications from Systematics to Conservation
Emu - Austral Ornithology ISSN: 0158-4197 (Print) 1448-5540 (Online) Journal homepage: http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/temu20 Resolving a phylogenetic hypothesis for parrots: implications from systematics to conservation Kaiya L. Provost, Leo Joseph & Brian Tilston Smith To cite this article: Kaiya L. Provost, Leo Joseph & Brian Tilston Smith (2017): Resolving a phylogenetic hypothesis for parrots: implications from systematics to conservation, Emu - Austral Ornithology To link to this article: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/01584197.2017.1387030 View supplementary material Published online: 01 Nov 2017. Submit your article to this journal Article views: 51 View related articles View Crossmark data Full Terms & Conditions of access and use can be found at http://www.tandfonline.com/action/journalInformation?journalCode=temu20 Download by: [73.29.2.54] Date: 13 November 2017, At: 17:13 EMU - AUSTRAL ORNITHOLOGY, 2018 https://doi.org/10.1080/01584197.2017.1387030 REVIEW ARTICLE Resolving a phylogenetic hypothesis for parrots: implications from systematics to conservation Kaiya L. Provost a,b, Leo Joseph c and Brian Tilston Smithb aRichard Gilder Graduate School, American Museum of Natural History, New York, USA; bDepartment of Ornithology, American Museum of Natural History, New York, USA; cAustralian National Wildlife Collection, National Research Collections Australia, CSIRO, Canberra, Australia ABSTRACT ARTICLE HISTORY Advances in sequencing technology and phylogenetics have revolutionised avian biology by Received 27 April 2017 providing an evolutionary framework for studying natural groupings. In the parrots Accepted 21 September 2017 (Psittaciformes), DNA-based studies have led to a reclassification of clades, yet substantial gaps KEYWORDS remain in the data gleaned from genetic information.