The Swift Parrot

It is not surprising that a wilderness as wild and magnificent as the Tarkine is an important habitat for birds.

This is especially true as the Tarkine offers our feathered friends a fantastic choice of landscapes, treescapes and places to forage.

Tarkine is home, at various times, to more than 130 different species of birds, throughout its variety of habitat types and landscapes. This includes eleven of Tasmania’s twelve endemic birds. The two migratory species that breed only in Tasmania, the Swift Parrot, and the Orange-bellied Parrot, forage in the Tarkine. The latter, a critically endangered species, breeds in south-west Tasmania but migrates along the west coast and forages on coastal plants. Consequently the Tarkine’s coastal vegetation is extremely important habitat. The endangered Swift Parrot breeds predominantly in south-east Tasmania and feeds on the nectar from the Tasmanian Blue Gum, and in the Tarkine, the Swift Parrot forages on these trees during the post-breeding dispersal and migration season.
Tarkine National Coalition

If you are a bird lover, I recommend you visit the Tarkine National Coalition website for a full run down on the important role the Tarkine plays in the lives of many of Tasmania’s most endangered birds.

For more information and photos of Tasmania’s birds visit Alan Fletcher’s wonderful blog Birds of Tasmania.

Swift Parrot photo courtesy of ianmichaelthomas at Flickr Creative Commons.