parrot under threat, suffering one of Australia’s worse predation rates.
More than 50 swift parrots have been sighted around the Territory over the past week, as the critically-endangered bird migrates from Tasmania to mainland Australia looking for food ahead of settling anywhere from south-east Queensland to that state’s far north.
Researchers from ANU have found that there are fewer than 300 swift parrots left in the wild after previous estimates had the population count closer to an optimistic 2000 birds.
Demographic information suggest the species could be extinct by 2031 based on the results of genetic evidence of earlier studies.
“The harvesting of timber within a swift parrot habitat on the NSW south coast – and in Tasmania – is significantly impacting the long-term viability of the species,” Dr Debbie Saunders, from ANU, said.