Rainbow Lorikeet
Description
The Rainbow Lorikeet is a medium sized parrot, with the length ranging from 25–30 cm in size, and have a wingspan of about 17 cm . The weight varies from 75–157 g . The plumage of the nominate race, as with all subspecies, is very bright. The head is deep blue with a yellow collar, and the rest of the upper parts (wings, back and tail) are deep green. The chest is red with blue-black barring. The belly is deep green, and the thighs and rump are yellow with deep green barring. The beak is orange. There are no differences between the sexes, and juvenile birds are like the adults but with duller overall plumage. The markings of the best known subspecies T. h. moluccanus are particularly are as the nominate race but with a more orange breast with little to no barring. The northern Australian race rubritorquis also lacks any markings on the orange breast, and the collar in this subspecies is orange, not yellow.
Behaviour
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.
Feeding
These birds spend a lot of time feeding and most of their food comes from trees. Flowers, pollen, nectar, blossoms mainly from (Myrtaceae, Proteacea, Eucalyptus, Xanthoroaceae ,Banksia, Melaleuca, Callistemon), berries and fruits, so they can be a pest to suburban and commercial fruit tree growers Rainbow Lorikeets have tiny hair like appendices on the end of their tongue, to help extract nectar etc. For harder fruits or seeds, they grate the fruit inside their beak or roll the fruit with their tongue against the inside of their beak Whilst feeding because of the good grip they can get with their claws they can be observed hanging upside down etc to feed. They occasionally feed on insects and larvae They obtain moisture from water trapped in leaves, but can also drink water directly.
Breeding
In Australia, breeding usually occurs during spring (September to December), but can vary from region to region with changes in food availability and climate. Nesting sites are variable and can include hollows of tall trees such as eucalypts, palm trunks, or overhanging rock[. One population in the Admiralty Islands nests in holes in the ground on predator-free islets. Pairs sometimes nest in the same tree with other Rainbow Lorikeet pairs, or other bird species The clutch size is between one to three eggs, which are incubated for around 25 days. Incubation duties are carried out by the female alone.
Relatives in the same Genus
Olive-headed Lorikeet
Ornate Lorikeet
Yellow and green Lorikeet
Red-collared Lorikeet
Pohnpei Lorikeet
Scaly-breasted Lorikeet
Mindanao Lorikeet
Olive-headed Lorikeet
Ornate Lorikeet
Yellow and green Lorikeet
Red-collared Lorikeet
Pohnpei Lorikeet
Scaly-breasted Lorikeet
Mindanao Lorikeet
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