The
Rainbow Lorikeet,
Trichoglossus haematodus is a species of
AustralasiaAustralasia is a region of Oceania: Australia, New Zealand, the island of New Guinea, and neighbouring islands in the Pacific Ocean. The term was coined by Charles de Brosses in Histoire des navigations aux terres australes . He derived it from the Latin for "south of Asia" and differentiated the...
n
parrotParrots, also known as psittacines , are birds of the roughly 372 species in 86 genera that make up the order Psittaciformes, found in most warm and tropical regions. The order is subdivded in three families: the Psittacidae , the Cacatuidae and the Nestoridae...
found in
AustraliaAustralia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the continental mainland , the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans...
, eastern
IndonesiaThe Republic of Indonesia is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia comprises 17,508 islands. With an estimated population of around 237 million people, it is the world's fourth most populous country, with the world's largest population of Muslims.Indonesia is a republic, with an...
(Maluku and
Western New GuineaWestern New Guinea is the western half of the island of New Guinea. It is the easternmost part of Indonesia, consisting of two provinces: Papua and West Papua. It was previously known by various names, including Netherlands New Guinea , West New Guinea , West Irian , and Irian Jaya...
),
Papua New GuineaPapua New Guinea , officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea, is a country in Oceania, occupying the eastern half of the island of New Guinea and numerous offshore islands...
,
New CaledoniaNew Caledonia , is a "sui generis collectivity" of France located in the region of Melanesia in the southwest Pacific. It comprises a main island , the Loyalty Islands, and several smaller islands...
,
Solomon IslandsThe Solomon Islands is a country in Melanesia, east of Papua New Guinea, consisting of nearly one thousand islands. Together they cover a land mass of 28,400 square kilometres . The capital is Honiara, located on the island of Guadalcanal.The Solomon Islands are believed to have been...
and
VanuatuVanuatu , officially the Republic of Vanuatu , is an island nation located in the South Pacific Ocean...
. In Australia, it is common along the eastern seaboard, from
QueenslandQueensland is a state of Australia that occupies the north-eastern section of the mainland continent. It is bordered by the Northern Territory to the west, South Australia to the south-west and New South Wales to the south. To the east, Queensland is bordered by the Coral Sea and Pacific Ocean...
to
South AustraliaSouth Australia is a state of Australia in the southern central part of the country. It covers some of the most arid parts of the continent; with a total land area of , it is the fourth largest of Australia's six states and two territories....
and northwest
TasmaniaTasmania is an Australian island and state. It is located south of the eastern side of the continent, from which it is separated by Bass Strait. The state includes the island of Tasmania – the 26th largest island in the world – and the surrounding islands. The state has a population of 500,000 ,...
. Its habitat is
rainforestRainforests are forests characterized by high rainfall, with definitions setting minimum normal annual rainfall between 1750–2000 mm . The monsoon trough, alternately known as the intertropical convergence zone, plays a significant role in creating Earth's tropical rain forests.From 40 to 75%...
, coastal bush and
woodlandEcologically, a woodland is an area covered in trees, usually at low density, forming an open habitat, allowing sunlight to penetrate between the trees, and limiting shade. Woodland may support an understory of shrubs and herbaceous plants including grasses. Woodland may form a transition to...
areas. Several taxa traditionally listed as
subspeciesSubspecies in biological classification, is 1) a taxonomic rank subordinate to species, or 2) a taxonomic unit, a taxon in that rank...
of the Rainbow Lorikeet are increasingly treated as separate species (see
Taxonomy).
Rainbow Lorikeets have been
introducedAn introduced, alien, exotic, non-indigenous, or non-native species, or simply an introduction, is a species living outside its native distributional range, which has arrived there by human activity, either deliberate or accidental...
to
Perth, Western AustraliaPerth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. With a population of 1,650,000 , Perth ranks fourth amongst the nation's cities, with a growth rate consistently above the national average....
, Auckland, New Zealand and
Hong KongHong Kong , officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, is a highly autonomous territory of the People's Republic of China, facing Guangdong to the north and the South China Sea to the east, west and south...
.
The Rainbow Lorikeet is very colourful - almost every colour of the rainbow can be found on their feathers.
The
Rainbow Lorikeet,
Trichoglossus haematodus is a species of
AustralasiaAustralasia is a region of Oceania: Australia, New Zealand, the island of New Guinea, and neighbouring islands in the Pacific Ocean. The term was coined by Charles de Brosses in Histoire des navigations aux terres australes . He derived it from the Latin for "south of Asia" and differentiated the...
n
parrotParrots, also known as psittacines , are birds of the roughly 372 species in 86 genera that make up the order Psittaciformes, found in most warm and tropical regions. The order is subdivded in three families: the Psittacidae , the Cacatuidae and the Nestoridae...
found in
AustraliaAustralia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the continental mainland , the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans...
, eastern
IndonesiaThe Republic of Indonesia is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia comprises 17,508 islands. With an estimated population of around 237 million people, it is the world's fourth most populous country, with the world's largest population of Muslims.Indonesia is a republic, with an...
(Maluku and
Western New GuineaWestern New Guinea is the western half of the island of New Guinea. It is the easternmost part of Indonesia, consisting of two provinces: Papua and West Papua. It was previously known by various names, including Netherlands New Guinea , West New Guinea , West Irian , and Irian Jaya...
),
Papua New GuineaPapua New Guinea , officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea, is a country in Oceania, occupying the eastern half of the island of New Guinea and numerous offshore islands...
,
New CaledoniaNew Caledonia , is a "sui generis collectivity" of France located in the region of Melanesia in the southwest Pacific. It comprises a main island , the Loyalty Islands, and several smaller islands...
,
Solomon IslandsThe Solomon Islands is a country in Melanesia, east of Papua New Guinea, consisting of nearly one thousand islands. Together they cover a land mass of 28,400 square kilometres . The capital is Honiara, located on the island of Guadalcanal.The Solomon Islands are believed to have been...
and
VanuatuVanuatu , officially the Republic of Vanuatu , is an island nation located in the South Pacific Ocean...
. In Australia, it is common along the eastern seaboard, from
QueenslandQueensland is a state of Australia that occupies the north-eastern section of the mainland continent. It is bordered by the Northern Territory to the west, South Australia to the south-west and New South Wales to the south. To the east, Queensland is bordered by the Coral Sea and Pacific Ocean...
to
South AustraliaSouth Australia is a state of Australia in the southern central part of the country. It covers some of the most arid parts of the continent; with a total land area of , it is the fourth largest of Australia's six states and two territories....
and northwest
TasmaniaTasmania is an Australian island and state. It is located south of the eastern side of the continent, from which it is separated by Bass Strait. The state includes the island of Tasmania – the 26th largest island in the world – and the surrounding islands. The state has a population of 500,000 ,...
. Its habitat is
rainforestRainforests are forests characterized by high rainfall, with definitions setting minimum normal annual rainfall between 1750–2000 mm . The monsoon trough, alternately known as the intertropical convergence zone, plays a significant role in creating Earth's tropical rain forests.From 40 to 75%...
, coastal bush and
woodlandEcologically, a woodland is an area covered in trees, usually at low density, forming an open habitat, allowing sunlight to penetrate between the trees, and limiting shade. Woodland may support an understory of shrubs and herbaceous plants including grasses. Woodland may form a transition to...
areas. Several taxa traditionally listed as
subspeciesSubspecies in biological classification, is 1) a taxonomic rank subordinate to species, or 2) a taxonomic unit, a taxon in that rank...
of the Rainbow Lorikeet are increasingly treated as separate species (see
Taxonomy).
Rainbow Lorikeets have been
introducedAn introduced, alien, exotic, non-indigenous, or non-native species, or simply an introduction, is a species living outside its native distributional range, which has arrived there by human activity, either deliberate or accidental...
to
Perth, Western AustraliaPerth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. With a population of 1,650,000 , Perth ranks fourth amongst the nation's cities, with a growth rate consistently above the national average....
, Auckland, New Zealand and
Hong KongHong Kong , officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, is a highly autonomous territory of the People's Republic of China, facing Guangdong to the north and the South China Sea to the east, west and south...
.
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 MinerThe Noisy Miner is a bird common to the eastern and southern states of Australia. It ranges from northern Queensland along the eastern coast to South Australia and Tasmania. Its typical diet consists of nectar, fruit and insects, and occasionally it feeds on small reptiles or amphibians...
, but also larger and more powerful birds such as the
Australian MagpieThe Australian Magpie is a medium-sized black and white passerine bird native to Australia and southern New Guinea. A member of the Artamidae, it is closely related to the butcherbirds...
.
Taxonomy
Rainbow Lorikeets are
true parrotsThe true parrots are about 330 species of bird belonging to the Psittacidae family, one of the two "traditional" families in the biological order Psittaciformes . The other family is the Cacatuidae which are also parrots, but not classified as true parrots...
, within the Psittacidae family, which are contained in the order Psittaciformes.
The Rainbow Lorikeet has often included the
Red-collared LorikeetThe Red-collared Lorikeet, Trichoglossus rubritorquis, is a species of parrot found in wooded habitats in northern Australia . It is sometimes considered a subspecies of the Rainbow Lorikeet, but today most major authorities consider them as separate species...
(
T. rubritorquis) as a subspecies, but today most major authorities consider it separate. Additionally, a review in 1997 led to the recommendation of splitting off some of the most distinctive taxa from the Lesser Sundas as separate species, these being the Scarlet-breasted Lorikeet (
T. forsteni), the
Marigold LorikeetThe Marigold Lorikeet is a species of parrot that is endemic to the south-east Asian islands of Sumba , Wetar and Timor...
(
T. capistratus) and the Flores Lorikeet (
T. weberi). This is increasingly followed by major authorities. With these as separate species, the Rainbow Lorikeet includes the following subspecies (in taxonomic order); most of the common names listed below are only used in
avicultureAviculture is the practice of keeping and breeding birds and the culture that forms around it. Aviculture is generally focused on not only the raising and breeding of birds, but also on preserving avian habitat, and public awareness campaigns....
.
- Rosenberg's Lorikeet, T. h. rosenbergii - Biak Island
Biak is a small island located in Cenderawasih Bay near the northern coast of Papua, an Indonesian province, and is just northwest of New Guinea. Biak is the largest island in its small archipelago, and has many atolls, reefs, and corals....
, Indonesia.
- Blue-faced Lorikeet, T. h. intermedius. - north coast of New Guinea
New Guinea, located north of Australia, is the world's second largest island. It became separated from the Australian mainland when the area now known as the Torres Strait flooded after the last glacial period. The name Papua has long been associated with the island...
. Not always considered distinct from T. h. haematodus.
- Green-naped Lorikeet, T. h. haematodus - southern Maluku
The Maluku Islands are an archipelago in Indonesia, and part of the larger Maritime Southeast Asia region. Tectonically they are located on the Halmahera Plate within the Molucca Sea Collision Zone. Geographically they are located east of Sulawesi , west of New Guinea, and north of Timor...
, West Papua islands and western New Guinea.
- Dark-throated Lorikeet, T. h. nigrogularis - Kai Islands
The Kai Islands of Indonesia are in the south-eastern part of the Maluku Islands, in Maluku Province.-Geography:...
, Aru IslandsThe Aru Islands are a group of about ninety-five low-lying islands in the Maluku province of eastern Indonesia.-Geography:...
and southern New Guinea. If T. h. caeruleiceps is recognized, T. h. nigrogularis is restricted to the Kai and Aru Islands.
- Brook's Lorikeet, T. h. brooki - Spriti Island in the Aru Islands Not always considered distinct from T. h. nigrogularis.
- Pale-head Lorikeet, T. h. caeruleiceps - southern New Guinea. Not always considered distinct from T. h. nigrogularis.
- Southern Green-naped Lorikeet, T. h. micropteryx - east New Guinea.
- Ninigo Lorikeet, T. h. nesophilus - Ninigo and Hermit Groups, west of Manus Island
Manus Island is part of Manus Province in northern Papua New Guinea and is the largest island of the Admiralty Islands. It is the fifth largest island in Papua New Guinea with an area of 2,100 km², measuring around 100 km × 30 km. It is covered in rugged jungles, which can be broadly...
, Papua New Guinea.
- Olive-green Lorikeet, T. h. flavicans - New Hanover Island
New Hanover Island, , also called Lavongai, is a large volcanic island in New Ireland Province, part of the Bismarck Archipelago of the New Guinea Islands region of Papua New Guinea, at...
, St. Matthias IslandsThe St Matthias Islands are a small group of islands in the Bismarck Archipelago, that makes up part of Papua New Guinea....
and Admiralty IslandAdmiralty Island is an island in the Alexander Archipelago in Southeast Alaska, at . It is
145 km long and
56 km wide with an area of
.
- Massena's or Coconut Lorikeet, T. h. massena - eastern New Guinea, Louisiade Archipelago
The Louisiade Archipelago is a string of ten larger volcanic islands frequently fringed by coral reefs, and 90 smaller coral islands located 200 km southeast of New Guinea, stretching over more than 160 km and spread over an ocean area of 26,000 km² between the Solomon Sea to the north and the...
, Karkar IslandKarkar Island is an oval-shaped volcanic island located in the Bismarck Sea, about 30 kilometres off the north coast of mainland Papua New Guinea in Madang Province. The island is about 25 km in length and 19 km in width. In the centre is an active volcano with two nested...
, Bismarck ArchipelagoThe Bismarck Archipelago is a group of islands off the northeastern coast of New Guinea in the western Pacific Ocean and is part of the Islands Region of Papua New Guinea.-History:...
, Solomon Islands and Vanuatu.
- Deplanche's Lorikeet, T. h. deplanchii - New Caledonia and Loyalty Islands
The Loyalty Islands are an archipelago in the Pacific. They are part of the French territory of New Caledonia, whose mainland is away. They form the Loyalty Islands Province , one of the three provinces of New Caledonia....
.
- Swainson's Lorikeet, T. h. moluccanus - eastern Australia and Tasmania.
Diet
Rainbow Lorikeets feed mainly on fruit, pollen and nectar, and possess a tongue adapted especially for their particular diet. The end of the tongue is equipped with a papillate appendage adapted to collecting nectar from flowers. They are also frequent visitors at bird feeders that supply lorikeet-friendly treats, such as store-bought nectar, sunflower seeds, and fruits such as apples, grapes and pears.
In many places, including campsites and suburban gardens, wild lorikeets are so used to humans that they can be hand-fed. The Currumbin Wildlife SanctuaryCurrumbin Wildlife Sanctuary at Currumbin on the Gold Coast, Queensland in Australia, is world renowned for its feeding of huge flocks of free-flying wild Rainbow Lorikeets, which come to the Sanctuary to feast off the special mixture which the Lorikeets eat....
in QueenslandQueensland is a state of Australia that occupies the north-eastern section of the mainland continent. It is bordered by the Northern Territory to the west, South Australia to the south-west and New South Wales to the south. To the east, Queensland is bordered by the Coral Sea and Pacific Ocean...
, Australia, is noted for its numerous lorikeets, which number in the thousands. Around 8am and 4pm each day the birds gather in a huge, noisy flock in the park's main area. Visitors are encouraged to feed them a specially-prepared nectar, and the birds will happily settle on arms and heads to consume it. Wild Rainbow Lorikeets can also be hand-fed by visitors at Lone Pine Koala SanctuaryLone Pine Koala Sanctuary is located in the Brisbane suburb of Fig Tree Pocket. Founded in 1927, it is the world's oldest and largest Koala Sanctuary.-Wildlife in the sanctuary:...
in BrisbaneBrisbane is the state capital of the Australian state of Queensland and is the largest city in that state. With an estimated population of approximately 2 million, it is also the third most populous city in Australia....
, Queensland, Australia. Semi-tame lorikeets are common daily visitors in Sydney backyards, often by the dozens.
Rainbow Lorikeets can also be fed in many zoos and animal parks outside Australia.
Reproduction
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 eucalyptEucalypts are woody plants belonging to three closely related genera:Eucalyptus, Corymbia and Angophora.In 1995 new evidence, largely genetic, indicated that some prominent Eucalyptus species were actually more closely related to Angophora than to the other eucalypts; they were split off into the...
s, palm trunks, or overhanging rock. Pairs sometimes nest in the same tree with other Rainbow Lorikeet pairs, or other bird species
Status
Overall, the Rainbow Lorikeet remains widespread and often common. It is therefore considered to be of Least ConcernLeast Concern is an IUCN category assigned to extant species or lower taxa which have been evaluated but do not qualify for any other category. As such they do not qualify as threatened, nor Near Threatened, nor Conservation Dependent...
by BirdLife InternationalBirdLife International is the international conservation organization working to protect the world’s birds and their habitats...
. The status for some localized subspecies is more precarious, with especially T. h. rosenbergii being threatened by habitat loss and capture for the parrot trade.
As a pest
The Rainbow Lorikeet was accidentally released into the southwest of the state of Western AustraliaWestern Australia is a state of Australia, occupying the entire western third of the Australian continent. Australia's largest state and the second largest subnational entity in the world, it has 2.2 million inhabitants , 85% of whom live in the south-west corner of the state.The state's capital...
from the University of Western AustraliaThe University of Western Australia is the oldest university in the state of Western Australia. Established in February 1911, it is the only university in the state to be a member of the prestigious Group of Eight, as well as the Sandstone universities. The University was established under and is...
in the 1960s and they have since been classified as a pest.
Rainbow Lorikeets can also be found in New ZealandNew Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses , and numerous smaller islands, most notably Stewart Island/Rakiura and the Chatham Islands. The indigenous Māori named New Zealand Aotearoa, commonly translated as The Land of the Long White Cloud...
, particularly around the AucklandThe Auckland metropolitan area , in the North Island of New Zealand, is the largest and most populous urban area in the country with a population approaching 1.4 million residents, percent of the country's population. Demographic trends indicate that it will continue to grow faster than the rest...
area. New Zealand's Department of Conservation has declared them a pest and is using similar methods to control and eradicate them.
Many fruit orchard owners consider them a pest, as they often fly in groups and strip trees containing fresh fruit. In urban areas, the birds create nuisance noise and fouling of outdoor areas and vehicles with droppings.
In Western AustraliaWestern Australia is a state of Australia, occupying the entire western third of the Australian continent. Australia's largest state and the second largest subnational entity in the world, it has 2.2 million inhabitants , 85% of whom live in the south-west corner of the state.The state's capital...
, a major impact of the Rainbow Lorikeet is competition with indigenous bird species. This includes domination of feeding resources, and competition for increasingly scarce nesting hollows. Birds such as the Purple-crowned LorikeetThe Purple-crowned Lorikeet, Glossopsitta porphyrocephala, is a lorikeet found in scrub and mallee of southern Australia...
Glossopsitta porphyrocephala and Carnaby's Black-Cockatoo Calyptorhynchus latirostris are adversely affected or displaced.
Aviculture
As with any parrot, ownership of lorikeets must not be taken lightly. Captive lorikeets have a long lifespan, often in excess of 20 years. Their diet makes them particularly messy; they are well-known in avicultureAviculture is the practice of keeping and breeding birds and the culture that forms around it. Aviculture is generally focused on not only the raising and breeding of birds, but also on preserving avian habitat, and public awareness campaigns....
for their liquid droppings and energetic and playful nature. Captive-bred Rainbow Lorikeets are legal to own in Australia.
Lorikeets are very amusing and affectionate as pets, but much more demanding than other parrots. They do not easily eat seeds, so all the usual bird-feeding regimens are useless. Lorikeets in captivity are best fed a custom mixture composed typically of baby cereal, rice flour, breadcrumbs, glucose powder, skim milk powder, semolina (wheat hearts), pollen mixture and, optionally, other ingredients such as powdered whole egg and crushed whole-wheat biscuits. This is given in dry form, alongside a dish of water, and also mixed with water and lightly cooked into a thin porridge.
A mixture of honey and water will also be welcome. Be aware that after this mixture the birds will want to rinse their mouth with clean water and, if more than one at a time can feed on the mixture, water to bathe in because they spray their feed about a lot. The area around their bath needs to be waterproof for a diameter of at least a metre (three feet).
Fresh fruit of course should be available, and you will probably be compelled to share some of whatever you yourself are eating. This represents a lot of time and trouble, which means that caring for a lorikeet is a very big and long-term commitment. The reward for this is a playful and devoted companion.
Other things to be concerned with if considering a lorikeet as a pet are: they are very prolific with their droppings, which aren't too bad if wiped up immediately, but this is nearly impossible due to the frequency; they are very rambunctious birds and not easy to put up with inside a home; an angry or happy lorikeet has an extremely powerful bite.
External links