Nature trail:

Amajority of our feathered friends from the avian world never fail to fascinate us with their beautifully coloured plumage, striking beaks, talons and unusual habits...

Today we like to introduce you to a species of vibrantly hued feathered friends who are bound to take your breath away if you ever happen to come across them in the natural habitats in their native land or even in an avian sanctuary... Dressed in almost every captivating colour of the rainbow these little birds aptly named Rainbow Lorikeets (Trichoglossus haematodus ) belong to the Psittacidae (parrot) family.

The Rainbow Lorikeet is among the most spectacular and variable of the group, with 21 races scattered over the southwestern Pacific. Most races of this 150-gram (five-ounce) species have red bills, blue heads, green wings, and black feet, though the colour and pattern of the chest, neck, and belly vary dramatically. The males and females are similar in plumage, but the female is smaller and has a shorter bill. The general plumage is very colourful with green, blue, black, red and yellow, but there is a lot of variation between the different sub-species (20 sub-species).

The legs are generally grey and the bill and iris are red in Rainbow Lorikeets. Immature birds have a duller plumage than the adults, a black-brown bill and brown iris. They are vividly coloured with a brilliant blue head and red bill. Their backs are bright green with a lighter collar at the top. Their fronts are orange with blue at the bottom. They can be confused with a Red-Collared Lorikeet which differs mostly in the collar colour.

The markings of the best known subspecies T. h. moluccanus are particularly striking. Rainbow Lorikeets are not large birds, with the length ranging from 25-30cm (9.8-11.8 in). The average total length from tip of the bill to the tip of the tail is about 26 cm. The wingspan is about 17cm (6.7 in). The Scaly-breasted Lorikeet (T. chlorolepidotus ) and the Red-collared Lorikeet (T. rubritorquis ) also belong to the same genus.

Rainbow Lorikeets are very active and noisy birds . These brightly coloured parrots are fast fliers and have rapid wing beats. They often fly in large flocks and are very noisy. Around sunset they are known to screech and fly around before roosting. They usually roost in tall eucalypts.

These birds feed mainly on flowers, nectar and fruit. The lorikeets have a brush on the end of their tongue to help with sipping up nectar and pollen. The females produce two or three white, oval-shaped eggs, but a pair can produce up to three broods in a season.

The female incubates the eggs for about 25 days. The father lorikeet also spends time in the nesting hollow. The young leave the nesting hollow for the first time after 7-8 weeks, returning to roost for the first few weeks.

Rainbow Lorikeets have been introduced to Perth, Western Australia, Auckland, New Zealand and Hong Kong.

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Relative in the same Genus

Olive-headed Lorikeet

The Olive-headed Lorikeet (Trichoglossus euteles), also called the Perfect Lorikeet, is found in forests, woodlands and cultivated areas on Timor and smaller nearby islands. The Olive-headed Lorikeet is a mainly green parrot about 24 cm (9.5 in) in size.

Ornate Lorikeet

The Ornate Lorikeet (Trichoglossus ornatus ), a monotypic species of parrot in the Psittacidae family is endemic to Sulawesi and nearby smaller islands in Indonesia. It is found in forests, woodlands, mangroves and plantations, and is locally common. The Ornate Lorikeet is a mainly green parrot...

Yellow-and-green Lorikeet

The Citrine Lorikeet (Trichoglossus flavoviridis ) or Yellow-and-green Lorikeet is endemic to Sulawesi and the Sula Islands in Indonesia. It is found in forests and woodlands at altitudes up to 2400 m. It is generally common.

Red-collared Lorikeet

The Red-collared Lorikeet, Trichoglossus rubritorquis , is found in wooded habitats in northern Australia (north-eastern Western Australia, northern Northern Territory and far north-western Queensland). It is sometimes considered a subspecies of the Rainbow Lorikeet.

Pohnpei Lorikeet

The Pohnpei Lorikeet (Trichoglossus rubiginosus ) is endemic to the island of Pohnpei and the nearby Ahnd Atoll in Micronesia. Historically the species also occurred on Namoluk Atoll near Chuuk.

Scaly-breasted Lorikeet

The Scaly-breasted Lorikeet (Trichoglossus chlorolepidotus ) is found in the woodlands in eastern Australia. The common name aptly describes this bird, which has yellow breast feathers broadly edged with green that look like scales.

Mindanao Lorikeet

The Mindanao Lorikeet or Mount Apo Lorikeet (Trichoglossus johnstoniae ), known in French as loriquet de Johnstone and in Spanish as lori de Mindanao are two very similar subspecies, which are both endemic to Mindanao , Philippines.

Fast facts

Lories and lorikeets are small to medium-sized arboreal parrots characterised by their specialised brush-tipped tongues for feeding on nectar and soft fruits. The species form a monophyletic group within the parrot family Psittacidae