THE Year of the Tree Hollow continues with the Goulburn Broken Catchment Management Authority (GBCMA) highlighting a critically endangered species through its community awareness campaign.

The migratory swift parrot (Lathamus discolor) features as this month’s animal.

GBCMA project officer Janice Mentiplay-Smith said the swift parrot was one of

Australia’s most beautiful parrots but was on a trajectory to extinction if not enough was done to save it.

“With just several hundred of these beautiful birds remaining in the wild, the ‘swiftie’ is listed as critically endangered,” Ms Mentiplay-Smith said.

She also said swift parrots were unique in migrating from their summer breeding grounds in southern Tasmania to the forests of Victoria’s Goulburn Broken catchment and beyond.

“Swift Parrots are a wonderful example of how biodiversity and habitat health is interconnected and not restricted by boundaries,” she said.

The parrots nest and raise their chicks in tree hollows in southern Tasmania during the summer.

“When the cooler months arrive, they migrate to our region to feast on the nectar produced by autumn and winter-flowering eucalypts.”

“This is a clear demonstration of how preserving habitat for the needs of our native species is a national effort,” Ms Mentiplay-Smith said.

BirdLife Australia coordinates Swift Parrot search events at Euroa, Nagambie, and Violet Town.

For further information visit https://birdlife.org.au/events/swift-parrot-search/