I went out at dusk again and waited for the Swift Parrots to come
overhead and saw groups of 3, 4, 3 and about 2 dozen. I thought I'd
pass along a few more observations on flight patterns while they're
fresh in my mind. I'd be very grateful to get some comments on flight
behavior in Swift Parrots from people with experience.
* Flying overhead against a plain sky, Swift Parrots look more like
Rainbows than anything else - but they still look different. Rainbows
are lot more stocky looking as their tail never really disappears,
even when they're up high.
* It seems like Swift Parrots are much more likely to fly in a tight
group at tree-top level than the Lorikeets.
* Even if you can't see the tail, the parrots have a much
longer-looking wing than, say, the Musk Lorikeets. Overall, they're a
very streamlined bird.
* They're insanely fast. I'm used to getting my binoculars on flying
parrots but these guys are tough. I was thinking it was the light or
some kind of illusion, now I think that they're either objectively
faster, better at flying near to cover, or both. "Both", is my
impression.
* I'd say that the Swift Parrots are a lot more likely to fly
acrobatically than the lorikeets. "Acrobatic" meaning, weaving,
changing directly slightly and switching around position in the flock.
* The Swift Parrots seem to fly in tighter bunches than Rainbow Lorikeets.
That's all pretty subjective and impressionistic so, again, I'd really
like to hear what other people think.
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