Superb Parrot - Nswfmpa.org

Animal Care Studies - Western Sydney Institute of TAFE, RichmondPost-breeding dispersal and habitat use.Between January and April, P. swainsonii generally disperse away from the breedingarea. Immediately after fledging, dispersal occurs from the Murray-Riverina nesting sitesinto the box woodland surrounding the riverine forest (with the exception of the EdwardRiver area, where it has been observed that there is little initial net movement). On thesouthwestern slopes, a similar early movement occurs into box-gum woodlands to thewest. Subsequently adults and young gradually distribute themselves over a far greaterrange, possibly following different food sources as these become available.It is known that during mid January, part of the P. swainsonii population forages on theboree trees, which form scattered woodlands between the Murrumbidgee and MurrayRivers. Whilst the distribution of the entire population from mid January to early April isunclear, the breeding habitats are not frequented during this time. Between April toAugust, the populations appear to be scattered from the Riverina to north-central NewSouth Wales and, during this time, a variety of habitats are exploited. In north-centralNew South Wales, river red gum forest and box-pine woodland are utilised whilst, in theRiverina, river red gum forest, box-pine woodland, box woodland, pine woodland andboree woodland are all used. On the southwestern slopes P. swainsonii has rarely beenobserved during winter (May-August), the few P. swainsonii that have been seen arepresumed to be breeding pairs. The bulk of the population from the southwestern slopesappears to disperse through the eucalypt-pine woodlands of west-central and northcentralNew South Wales. The over wintering of P. swainsonii in northern New SouthWales may be a recent phenomenon, as there are no museum specimens from that regionand P. swainsonii was not observed in the region until 1931. Routes followed by P.swainsonii when moving away from or returning to breeding areas are not known, but itis likely that dispersal patterns are determined by food availability, and it is possible thatdifferent routes are followed on outward and inward journeys (refer Figure 4).A few P. swainsonii may be observed in the nesting areas as early as late March, but it isMay or late April that birds begin returning to the riverine forests of river red gums or tothe breeding areas on the southwestern slopes of New South Wales. Local observations(Thompson, P. 2004 pers. communication, 1 Nov) for the Boorowa district of thesouthwestern slopes suggest that the return of P. swainsonii to the area for breeding canbe timed to coincide with the equinox but is dependent on climate patterns. It is suspectedthat the early arrivals are established breeding pairs and likely that subadults and nonbreedingadults make up the flocks that continue to wander throughout the winteringrange until about August, when populations are again concentrated in the breeding areas.Generally the post and pre-breeding movements of P. swainsonii are poorly known andrequire further research. (Costermans 1991) (Forshaw 2002) (Garnett and Crowley 2000)(Higgins 1999) (Robinson 1994) (Sindel and Gill 2003) (Streatfield 1995) (Thompson2004) (Webster and Ahern 1992)Keith Naylor 28/3/2005 Version 3 19