Rainbow lorikeet
Rainbow
lorikeet - Scientific name: Trichoglossus haematodus
Rainbow lorikeets' distribution is mainly over the north-east in
Australia. Their habitat ranges from forests of all sorts (heathlands,
open forests, rainforest, sclerophyll forest) coastal or inland, to any
area including urban areas that have suitable trees. They are a
small bird generally 11 to 12 inches long, weighing 120 to 140 grams on
average females are generally a bit smaller and adolescents have duller
markings. They are said to live over 20 years in the wild.
They are normally found in flocks, large flocks at night roosting in
trees (thousands) but during the daytime they move and feed in much
smaller flocks ranging up to 20 birds. Late evening you may see
larger flocks as they head towards their roosting site. They are
arboreal, which means they like trees, and can be very noisy, active,
gregarious (sociable) and are often seen in the company of other birds.
They will spend long times feeding in trees but in hot conditions will
have an afternoon break from feeding.
They 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. They
occasionally feed on insects and larvae, and often hang upside down whilst feeding because of
the good grip they can get with their claws.
They obtain moisture from water trapped in leaves, but can also drink
water directly.
Rainbow lorikeets reach sexual maturity after 2 years, and breeding
occurs normally in the spring time with these birds paring up for life.
The nest is located in a tree hollow, knot hole or cavity high up and is
lined with wood dust. 2 white oval eggs are normally laid and take 25
to 26 days to hatch whilst the female incubates. Both parents help
to feed the young which fledge in 50 to 55 days.
Click on the photo for a larger (slower) image.
|
