Document ID: chunk:federal_register_of_legislation:F2024L00482:reg:1:p5
Version: federal_register_of_legislation:F2024L00482
Segment Type: reg
Provision Reference: reg 1 (pt 5/16)
Character Range: 22193–25095

on PVA (Heinsohn et al. 2019).
Figure 1 Indicative distribution of the Swift Parrot in Australia
Figure 2 Potential breeding range of Swift Parrot in Tasmania
Note: Swift Parrot Important Breeding Areas (SPIBA) are known or suspected to have supported a large portion of the Swift Parrot breeding population in any given year (FPA 2010). The core range of the Swift Parrot is the area within the south-eastern (SE) potential breeding range that is within 10 km of the coast or is designated as a SPIBA (as defined in FPA 2022). The potential breeding range of the Swift Parrot comprises the north-western (NW) potential breeding range and the SE potential breeding range. The NW potential breeding range includes the NW breeding areas (known nesting locations such as, Gog Range, Badger Range, Kelcey Tier) (FPA 2022).

1.5                 Habitat

1.5.1             Mainland habitat
Swift Parrots spend the winter on mainland Australia (Figure 1). During the non-breeding season the population frequents eucalypt woodlands and forests in South Australia, Victoria, New South Wales, Australian Capital Territory and Queensland. Within these habitats, Swift Parrots preferentially forage in large, mature trees (Kennedy 2000; Kennedy and Overs 2001; Kennedy and Tzaros 2005) that provide more reliable foraging resources than younger trees (Wilson and Bennett 1999; Law et al. 2000).
Key foraging species includes Yellow Gum (E. leucoxylon); Red Ironbark (E. tricarpa); Mugga Ironbark (E. sideroxylon); Grey Box (E. macrocarpa); White Box (E. albens); Yellow Box (E. melliodora); Swamp Mahogany (E. robusta); Forest Red Gum (E. tereticornis); Blackbutt (E. pilularis); and Spotted Gum (Corymbia maculata). Other foraging species may be important at certain times of the year. Swift Parrots rely heavily on lerp for food. Lerps are protective covers made by nymphs (a larval stage that resembles adults) of jumping plant lice or psyllids (Family: Psyllidae). Nymphs excrete honeydew on the leaf surface and the sugars and amino acids in the honeydew crystallise in the air to form lerps. Leaves can look black and sooty when moulds grow on the honeydew. Lerp size and shape varies between species of psyllid. On mainland Australia Swift Parrots are regularly found feeding on lerp, with flocks of up to 50 birds feeding on lerp for up to an entire season, sometimes choosing to eat lerp despite the nearby availability of nectar resources (S. Vine BirdLife Australia pers. comm.).
The distribution of Swift Parrots across the landscape will vary depending on the flowering phenology of key foraging species. Due to the variable production of nectar and lerps it is considered critically important to protect and manage a broad range of habitats to provide a range of foraging resources (Kennedy and Overs 2001; Kennedy and Tzaros 2005).

1.5.2             Tasmanian breeding and foraging habitat
Breeding