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Project Noah Nature School
Trichoglossus moluccanus (reclassified from T. haematodus)
A pair of "rainbow lorikeets" busy at work making a mess. These are Australian native parrots that belong to the family Psittaculidae. At this time of year, they visit my yard regularly to feed on the fruit of a "China doll" (Rademachera sinica), and despite this not being a native Australian tree, the lorikeets go crazy for its bounty of seeds encased in long, swirling pods. A dozen or more birds descended upon the tree this afternoon, and the screeching and squabbling has been unbelievable - a very entertaining sight, and a noisy one too! NB: This species has been reclassified. Wikipedia taxonomy information... "For many years, the species was broadly defined with 20 or 22 subspecies recognised, and was known as the rainbow lorikeet. This name has been reapplied to eastern Australian populations, now classified as a distinct species Trichoglossus moluccanus."... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coconut_lo... Hopefully I have interpreted this information correctly. An interesting article... https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-12-19/r...
Suburban backyard in inner-city Brisbane. Here's a spotting of the tree they're feeding on.... https://www.projectnoah.org/spottings/14...
Thanks to some recent and plentiful rainfall these past few weeks, this tree has become lush with fresh foliage, and has flowered and fruited like crazy. The lorikeets showed up about a fortnight ago and have been regular morning and afternoon feeders ever since. The past few years of drought saw less fruiting and fewer visitors to this tree, so the lorikeets are making up for lost time.
Spotted on Feb 19, 2020
Submitted on Feb 19, 2020
4 Comments
Thanks, Tukup. Yes, it's their nature to make a mess and destroy stuff. Sulfur crested cockatoos are probably the worst. They can travel in big flocks and are very rowdy. They're known to have caused thousands of dollars worth of damage to houses they've set upon, and they'll gnaw at anything. They're so comical to watch though, just like the lorikeets. They're naughty and very feisty too :)
"at work making a mess." That IS what parrots do isn't it. We can always tell the roosts of the macaw flocks here as the tops of the palms are absolutely shredded. Nice shots. Thanks for sharing Neil.
Thanks, ornithoptera80. They're very photogenic birds, so it's not too difficult to get some good pics now and then. They are so comical to watch.
great series!!!