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Endangered swift parrot is Australia's bird of the year
The Guardian
|October 07, 2023
The critically endangered swift parrot has been voted the 2023 Australian bird of the year.
Voters in the Guardian/BirdLife Australia biennial poll have used this year's competition to send a message that they want to see the habitat of the world's fastest parrot protected.
After ranking around 10th place during the early days of voting, the swift parrot emerged as a frontrunner this week amid a grassroots campaign to raise awareness about its desperate situation.
In the final 24 hours of polling, 11,171 votes were cast for the swift parrot, placing it 442 points ahead of the tawny frogmouth, which received 10,729 votes.
"This was definitely a concerted vote from people who were captivated not just by the birds themselves but their plight," BirdLife Australia's national public affairs manager, Sean Dooley, said.
Both the swift parrot and the tawny frogmouth had high profiles in this year's competition.
This story is from the October 07, 2023 edition of The Guardian.
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