The Yellow-billed Lorikeet (Neopsittacus musschenbroekii) is a species of parrot in the Psittacidae family. It is found in Indonesia and Papua New Guinea. Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical moist montanes.
Showing posts with label Lories and Lorikeets. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Lories and Lorikeets. Show all posts
Wednesday, November 4, 2009
The Plum-faced Lorikeet (Oreopsittacus arfaki), also known as the Whiskered Lorikeet, is a species of parrot in the Psittacidae family. It is the only member of the genus Oreopsittacus. It is found in highland forest on New Guinea.
Description
The Plum-faced Lorikeet is a mainly green small parrot about 15 cm (6 in) long with a long pointed tail. It has two white stripes under each eye. It has a narrow pointed black bill and dark-brown irises. The adult male as a red forehead and the adult female has a green forehead.
The Red-flanked Lorikeet (Charmosyna placentis) is a species of parrot in the Psittacidae family. It is found in Indonesia and Papua New Guinea. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests and subtropical or tropical mangrove forests. Only the adult males have the red plumage on the head and sides.
The Purple-crowned Lorikeet, Glossopsitta porphyrocephala, (also known as the Porphyry-crowned Lorikeet, Zit Parrot, Blue-crowned Lorikeet, Purple-capped Lorikeet or Lory, and Purple-capped Parakeet) is a lorikeet found in scrub and mallee of southern Australia. It is a small lorikeet distinguished by a purple crown, an orange forehead and ear-coverts, and a light blue chin and chest.
Taxonomy
The Purple-crowned Lorikeet was first described by Lionel Dietrichsen in 1837, its specific epithet derived from the Ancient Greek words porphuros "purple" and kephalē "head".Alternate common names include Porphyry-crowned lorikeet, Dietrichsen's Lory, and Zit Parrot, from its shrill call.
Description
Measuring around 15 cm (6 in) long, the male Purple-crowned Lorikeet is a small lorikeet with a dark purple crown, a yellow-orange forehead and ear-coverts, deepening to orange lores, and green upperparts, tinted bronze on the mantle and nape. The chin, chest and belly are a conspicuous powder blue, while the thighs and under-tail coverts are yellowish-green. The green tail has some orange-red coloration at the bases of the lateral feathers. The large crimson patches under the wings are visible when the bird is in flight. The small beak is black, the iris brown and the feet grey. The female is similar but has a darker iris, paler ear coverts and lacks the crimson patches. Immature birds are duller and lack the purple crown. Its call is a high-pitched loud tsit, as well as chattering while eating in treetops.
Distribution and habitat
The Purple-crowned Lorikeet is found in southwest Western Australia, and in southern South Australia, east from the southern Eyre Peninsula, through the Gawler Range and southern Flinders Ranges and across Victoria to East Gippsland. It is also found on Kangaroo Island. It is not found in Tasmania.
Locally nomadic, it is often found in dry sclerophyll forest, especially where Eucalyptus trees are flowering.
Behaviour
Generally found in small groups, the species may congregate in larger flocks, and may be in the company of Little- and Musk Lorikeets. It is a fast, straight flyer and dwells mainly in the forest canopy far above the ground.
Feeding
Blossoms of various Eucalyptus and Melaleuca species, and the boobialla (Myoporum insulare) are among material consumed.
Breeding
Breeding season is from August to December with one brood laid. The nest is a small hollow in a tree, often with a knot-hole entrance. Sometimes the species nests in colonies. A clutch of 2-4 matte white roundish eggs, measuring 20 x 17 mm, is laid. The incubation period is around 17 days.
Aviculture
Captive Purple-crowned Lorikeets have had a reputation for being short-lived. It is almost never seen in captivity outside Australia.
The Musk Lorikeet (Glossopsitta concinna) is a lorikeet, one of the three species of the Glossopsitta genus. It inhabits south-central/eastern Australia. The Musk Lorikeet was first described by ornithologist George Shaw in 1790 as Psittacus concinnus, from a collection in the vicinity of Port Jackson in what is now Sydney. John Latham described it as Psittacus australis. Its specific epithet is the Latin concinna "elegant". Other common names include Red-eared Lorikeet, and Green Keet, and formerly a local Sydney indigenous term Coolich. The names Green Leek and King Parrot have been incorrectly applied to this species in the past.
Description
The Musk Lorikeet is 22 cm (8.5 in) long. It is mainly green and it is identified by its red forehead, blue crown and a distinctive yellow band on its wing. Both upper and lower mandibles of the beak are red at the tip and darker near its base. The blue area on the crown of the female is smaller and paler than seen on the male.
Distribution and Habitat
Musk Lorikeets are found in eastern New South Wales, Victoria, South Australia and Tasmania.
Breeding
The musk lorikeet breeds mainly from August to January. Their nest are usually built in a hollow limb of a tree. Two white 25x20 mm eggs are laid.
The Violet Lorikeet, Vini peruviana, is a small lorikeet from French Polynesia and the Cook Islands. It is also known as the Tahiti Lorikieet, Tahitian Lory, Blue Lory, and the Indigo Lory. It was formerly found on 23 islands around Tahiti, but now restricted to perhaps eight islands: Motu, Manuae, Tikehau, Rangiroa, Aratua, Kaukura, Apataki, Aitutaki, and possibly Harvey Island and Manihi. Its plumage is mainly dark blue and it has a white area over its upper chest, throat and face.
Description
The Violet Lorikeet is 18 cm long with a short rounded tail. Its plumage is mainly dark blue and it has a white area over its upper chest, throat and lower face. Erectile feathers on the top of its head show light blue streaks. Its beak is orange and its irises are yellow-brown. It has orange legs. Adult males and females have identical external appearance. The juvenile lacks the white plumage of the adult and has a dark grey-blue face and lower parts. The juvenile also has a black bill, dark brown irises, and its legs are orange brown.
Feeding
Violet Lorikeets depend on coconut palms for nesting and some of its food, and will frequent cultivated areas. They also roost in palm trees, rising at dawn and calling and preening before feeding. They are usually found in small flocks of less than ten birds. They are active birds, feeding on nectar, insects and ground forage.
The Blue-crowned Lorikeet, Vini australis, is a parrot found throughout the Samoa and Tonga islands and Lau archipelago, including: ʻAlofi, Fotuhaʻa, Fulago, Futuna, Haʻafeva, Niuafoʻou, Moce, Niuē, Ofu, Olosega, Sāmoa, Savaiʻi, Tafahi, Taʻu, Tofua, Tonga, Tungua, ʻUiha, ʻUpolu, Varoa, Vavaʻu, and Voleva. It is a 19 cm green lorikeet with a red throat, blue crown, and belly patch shading from red at the top to purple at the bottom.
It is still common, but declining on some islands, apparently from predation by rats. They frequent areas with flowering trees, including coconut plantations and gardens, usually in small flocks of less than about 15 individuals or in pairs during breeding season. It eats nectar, pollen, and soft fruits, especially wild hibiscus and coconut. Nests in holes in trees but may also dig burrows in earth banks.
The Collared Lory (Phigys solitarius) is a monotypic species of parrot in the Psittacidae family, and it is the only species in the genus Phigys. It is endemic to the islands of Fiji. It is the only Fijian rainforest bird to adapt to urban landscapes and can be found in urban Suva. Measuring 20 cm (8 in), it has bright red underparts and face with a purple crown and greenish upperparts. Males and females are similar in plumage, although the latter have a paler crown.
Description
Adult birds are around 20 cm (8 in) long and exhibit slight sexual dimorphism. The male has bright scarlet cheeks, throat, breast, and upper abdomen. The crown is dark purple. The nape is lime green and red and some of the feathers on the nape are elongated. The wings, back, and tail are greenish. The lower abdomen is purple. The bill is yellow-orange, the feet pink-orange, and the irises are orange-red. The female is similar but with a paler crown that has a greenish hue posteriorly. Juveniles are duller with vague purple transverse striations on the upper abdomen and breast, and they have a brown beak and pale brown irises.
Taxonomy
The Collared Lory was first described by German naturalist Georg Adolf Suckow in 1800, and placed in the genus Phigys by English naturalist George Robert Gray in 1870. It is a monotypic species, and it is the only species in the genus Phigys. The species is sometimes considered to be in the genus Vini.
The Fijian name is Kula. Alternate common names include Fiji-Lory, Ruffled-Lory, and Solitary Lory. The last is a misnomer as the species isn't solitary.
Distribution and habitat
Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests. It has adapted to human habitation and can be found in Suva. It occurs on Fiji's larger islands, and on the Lau Islands outwards to Lakeba and Oneata. While the species is today restricted to Fiji, fossil evidence shows that it once occurred in Tonga as well, and was extirpated by early human settlers.
Behaviour
The Collared Lory is a fast and straight flyer with quick shallow wingbeats, and can be found in pairs or small groups. The call is a high pitched single or double shriek.
Feeding
The diet of the Collared Lory consists fruit, seeds, nectar and blossoms. Trees favoured include the Drala (Erythrina variegata), the Coconut Palm (Cocos nucifera) and the introduced and invasive African Tulip tree (Spathodea campanulata).
Breeding
The nest is a hollow in a tree, or sometimes in a hole in a rotting coconut still attached to the tree. The clutch size is two eggs in captivity, the size in the wild is unknown but presumed to be the same. Incubation is around 30 days, and the nestling stage lasts about 9 weeks.
Aviculture
The Collared Lory was bred and exhibited in London and Taronga Zoos in the early 1940s. The species became tame readily in captivity but early attempts to keep birds alive proved difficult
The Black-capped Lory, Lorius lory, also known as Western Black-capped Lory or the Tricolored Lory, is a parrot found in New Guinea and adjacent smaller islands. It is a colorful and relatively robust lory (31 cm). There are seven subspecies, all with green wings, red heads and body around the wing, a black cap, grey-black cere, yellow underwings, and blue legs and belly. Most also have a blue nape and mantle (area between wings on the back). It remains overall widespread and common, but the subspecies cyanuchen is relatively rare, with fewer than 5000 individuals remaining.
Behavior
The Black-capped Lory inhabits the primary forest and forest edges in most lowland areas up to 1000m (sporadically to 1750m), but not monsoon forest or coconut plantations. It is usually found in pairs and occasionally in groups of 10 or more. Their diet includes pollen, nectar, flowers, fruit and insects.
The Purple-naped Lory, Lorius domicella is a monotypic species of parrot in the Psittacidae family. It is forest-dwelling endemic to the islands of Seram, Ambon, and perhaps also Haruku and Saparua, South Maluku, Indonesia. It is considered vulnerable, the main threat being from trapping for the cage-bird trade.
The Goldie's Lorikeet (Psitteuteles goldiei) is a species of parrot in the Psittacidae family. It is found in forest and woodland in New Guinea, primarily at altitudes of 1000-2200 m.a.s.l. It is mostly green with yellowish streaks in the chest area, and a red, blue and purple head. It is said to resemble a watermelon in appearance. It is a small bird measureing 19 cm (7 ½ in) in length and weighing 45-60 grams.
Description
Goldie's Lorikeet is 19 cm (7.5 in) long. It is mainly green, and its underside is yellow-green with dark green longitudinal streaks. It has a red plumage on crown, which is less extensive in the female. The back of its head is blue, its cheeks are mainly mauve and blue, its beak is black, and its irises are brown. Its legs are greenish-brown. In juveniles the red on the head is reduced to a small red patch above its beak. Juveniles have a brown beak, a green crown, and greyish-blue plumage on the back of head.
Range
Goldie's Lorikeet is native to the highlands of New Guinea (usually 1000 to 2200 m ASL) of Indonesia and Papua New Guinea
Aviculture
Goldie's Lorikeet is well regarded as a pet. They are quiet, non-destructive, non-aggressive, and can be kept as a single pair or in larger communities. Some lorikeets have learned to mimic human voices.
The Iris Lorikeet, Psitteuteles iris is a small, up to 20 cm long, green lorikeet. The male has a red forehead, yellow nape, purple band back from eye between nape and cheek, and yellowish below. The female almost similar with red-marked green forecrown and yellowish green cheek.
The Iris Lorikeet is distributed in the forests and woodlands on the islands of Wetar and Timor in the Lesser Sundas. It is found from sea level to altitude of 1,500m. The Iris Lorikeet is usually found in small flocks.
Due to ongoing habitat loss, limited range and illegal trapping for the caged-bird trade, the Iris Lorikeet is evaluated as Near Threatened on IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. It is listed on Appendix II of CITES.
The Varied Lorikeet (Psitteuteles versicolor) is a species of parrot in the Psittacidae family. It is endemic to northern Australia.
Description
The Varied Lorikeet is 19 cm (7.5 in) long. It is mainly green with short yellow longitudinal streaks. The lores, forehead, and crown are red. The beak is red, the bare eye-rings are white, the lores are bare, and the irises are orange-yellow. The upper breast is mauve with longitudinal yellow streaks. The legs are bluish-grey. In the female the red on the head is less extensive, and the breast has duller colours. Juveniles are much duller and are mainly green with an orange forehead, pale-brown irises, and a brown beak that is orange at the base.
Breeding
The Varied Lorikeet mates in April-August and will lay 2-4 white eggs in a tree hollow with eucalyptus leaves.
Range and habitat
The Varied Lorikeet lives in tropical eucalypt forests, wetland and grassland areas in northern Queensland, Northern Territory and Western Australia.
The Scaly-breasted Lorikeet (Trichoglossus chlorolepidotus) is an Australian lorikeet found in woodland in eastern Australia. The common name aptly describes this bird, which has yellow breast feathers broadly edged with green that look like scales.
Taxonomy
The Scaly-breasted Lorikeet was first described by German zoologist Heinrich Kuhl in 1820. Other names this bird is known by include the Gold and Green Lorikeet, Greenie, Green Lorikeet, Green and Yellow Lorikeet, Green Keet, Green Parrot, Green Leek, Greenie, and Green Leaf. It is often colloquially referred to as a "Scaly". Its specific epithet is derived from the Ancient Greek root chloro- "green", and Latin lepidotus "scaly".
Description
The Scaly-breasted Lorikeet is about 23 cm (9.0 in) long. The crown and sides of head are emerald-green slightly tinged with blue, while the feathers of the back of the neck and throat and breast are yellow, broadly edged with green, giving scaly appearance. The tail is green with the base of the outer tail-feathers marked with orange-red. The lower flanks, thighs and undertail-coverts green are strongly marked with yellow, while the underwing-coverts are orange-red. They have orange-red eyes, and their bills (beaks) are dark coral-red. Their legs are generally grey-brown.
Male and female are similar in external appearance. Juveniles appear similar to adults, but their tails are shorter. Eyes are pale brown or black, and bills are brown with some yellow markings or orange with brown markings.
Distribution and habitat
This lorikeet is common in most timbered areas of Eastern Australia from Bamaga, the tip of North Queensland, south to Illawarra district on the New South Wales south coast; also on some offshore islands. They are generally confined to coastal plains and adjacent tablelands; occasionally found along watercourses west of the Great Dividing Range. They are abundant and mostly sedentary in north; less numerous and nomadic in the south. They favour open, lightly-timbered areas and melaleuca thickets. A 2009 report indicated that the total bird population had fallen by almost 2.3 due to deforestation.
Behaviour
The lorikeet's predominantly green plumage blends so well with foliage that the bird is hard to detect. An observer beneath a tree where scaly-breasted lorikeets are feeding may take some time to spot the birds. Their dark coral beak is often the first indications to their whereabouts. They seem to favour open, lightly timbered areas, but may be seen in melaleuca thickets when the trees are flowering.
The Scaly-breasted lorikeet is usually seen in small flocks, flying overhead, or feeding among the outermost branches of flowering trees. They frequent most timbered areas and are often seen in gardens and parklands – even in large cities.
Scaly-breasted lorikeets fly swiftly and in a straight path. As they pass overhead the sound of their rapid wing-beats can be heard along with their high-pitched call.
Calls
Scaly-breasted lorikeets are extremely noisy birds and attract attention by their screeching and chattering. The contact call of these birds is a metallic, rolling, continuous screech in flight. They have a shrill chatter when feeding. While resting, they have a soft, gentle twitter. Although, these birds can be quite noisy as mating season draws nearer. These birds are often making loud tweets/squawks when looking for their food.
Feeding
Scaly-breasted lorikeets have similar habits to the related Rainbow Lorikeet, and the two species often group together in mixed flocks. Both species feed mainly on nectar, such as that from the Broad-leaved Paperbark (Melaleuca quinquenervia), and pollen, but they also eat blossoms, berries, other fruit, icecream, seeds, and insects and their larvae. They are very fond of cultivated fruits and often cause damage in orchards; they also raid sorghum and maize crops to feed on unripe milky grain.
Breeding
Breeding occurs in all months except March and April though usually August-January in the southern part of its range. These birds nest in hollow trees, usually high above the ground, with a layer of wood dust serving as a mattress at the bottom. They usually lay two eggs, rarely three; they are white, oval, and about 26 X 20 mm. Incubation lasts about 25 days. Males spend time in the nest hollow, but apparently do not share in the incubation. Both parents feed the young, which leave the nest six to eight weeks after hatching.
Aviculture
The Scaly-breasted Lorikeet adapts fairly well to captivity, and is playful and quiet, although it can be aggressive. A blue mutation, with dark blue plumage and white breast markings, has been bred in Australia.
The Rainbow Lorikeet, Trichoglossus haematodus is a species of Australasian parrot found in Australia, eastern Indonesia (Maluku and Western New Guinea), Papua New Guinea, New Caledonia, Solomon Islands and Vanuatu. In Australia, it is common along the eastern seaboard, from Queensland to South Australia and northwest Tasmania. Its habitat is rainforest, coastal bush and woodland areas. Several taxa traditionally listed as subspecies of the Rainbow Lorikeet are increasingly treated as separate species. Rainbow Lorikeets have been introduced to Perth, Western Australia, Auckland, New Zealand and Hong Kong.
Description
The Rainbow Lorikeet is very colourful - almost every colour of the rainbow can be found on their feathers. They are not large birds, with a Rainbow Lorikeet's length ranging from 25–30 cm (9.8-11.8 in) in size, and have a wingspan of about 17 cm (6.7 in). The markings of the best known subspecies T. h. moluccanus are particularly striking. The features distinguishing a Rainbow Lorikeet include a dark blue or violet-blue head and stomach, a bright green back, tail and vent, and an orange breast and beak. Several subspecies have darker scalloped markings across the orange or red breast.
Rainbow Lorikeets often travel together in pairs and occasionally respond to calls to fly as a flock, then disperse again into pairs. Rainbow Lorikeet pairs defend their feeding and nesting areas aggressively against other Rainbow Lorikeets and other bird species. They chase off not only smaller birds such as the Noisy Miner, but also larger and more powerful birds such as the Australian Magpie.
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