Tasmania’s critically endangered Swift parrot has been named the 2023 Australian bird of the year.
After weeks of voting, the Swift parrot won over the tawny frogmouth in the Guardian/BirdLife Australia poll.
Climbing from around 10th place in the early days of voting, the Swift gained popularity thanks to a grassroots campaign raising awareness about its dire situation.
Numbers from The Guardian show that in the final 24 hours of voting, 11,171 votes were cast for the Swift parrot, while the tawny frogmouth received 10,729 votes.
BirdLife Australia’s Sean Dooley said while the bird of the year poll was an uplifting display of the love people have for our birds, this year’s result shows that people are serious about protecting them.
“The real thing about this – and this is why it’s so tragic – is swift parrots are the most egregious example of how our nature laws are failing us,” he said.
“Because the situation could not be more stark or obvious.”
Dooley said the main threat to the Swift parrot is the destruction of its forest habitat, especially due to native forest logging.
“This was definitely a concerted vote from people who were captivated not just by the birds themselves but their plight.”
During the competition, new population estimates from the Australian National University for the Swift parrot species revealed a concerning decline.
Even without considering habitat logging, the projections suggested that there would be fewer than 100 Swift parrots by 2031, with an average population of just 58 birds, unless serious conservation efforts are made.
321,000 votes were cast in the 2023 bird of the year poll, with 55,384 votes in the final round.
