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Australian Wildlife

  Rainbow Lorikeet (Trichoglossus haematodus)





Rainbow Lorikeet | Trichoglossus haematodus photo
Rainbow Lorikeet feeding on apple. These are regular garden visitors feeding on fruit and native plants.

Image by ozwildlife - Some rights reserved.

Rainbow Lorikeet | Trichoglossus haematodus photo
Rainbow Lorikeets feeding on fruit on deck of house in Brisbane.

Image by ozwildlife - Some rights reserved.

Rainbow Lorikeet | Trichoglossus haematodus photo
Rainbow Lorikeets and Scaly-breasted Lorikeets feeding together at Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary, Brisbane, Queensland.

Image by ozwildlife - Some rights reserved.

Rainbow Lorikeet | Trichoglossus haematodus photo
Rainbow Lorikeet at Currumbin Sanctuary. These wild birds come to feed at the sanctuary daily.

Image by ozwildlife - Some rights reserved.

Rainbow Lorikeet | Trichoglossus haematodus photo
Feeding on Grevillea, Brisbane

Image by ozwildlife - Some rights reserved.

Rainbow Lorikeet | Trichoglossus haematodus photo
Rainbow Lorikeet

Photograph copyright: Nickolay Tilcheff - all rights reserved. Used with permission.

Rainbow Lorikeet | Trichoglossus haematodus photo
Rainbow Lorikeet

Photograph copyright: Nickolay Tilcheff - all rights reserved. Used with permission.







RAINBOW LORIKEET FACTS

Description
The Rainbow Lorikeet is a brightly coloured parrot. Flies fast with rapid wing beats. Lorikeets are often seen in large flocks. Often these flocks are very noisy around sunset as they screech and fly around before roosting. They usually roost in tall eucalypts.

Other Names
Blue mountain lorikeet, Blue mountain parrot, Swainson's lorikeet, Rainbow lory

Size
28 cm

Habitat
rainforest, open forest, woodland, heath, mangroves, along watercourses, mallee, gardens, parks, orchards

Food
mainly flowers, nectar and fruit. The lorikeet has a brush on the end of its tongue to help with sipping up nectar and pollen. Native shrubs such as Grevilleas attract them to suburban gardens.

Breeding
Lays two or sometimes three white, oval-shaped eggs. May produce up to three broods of chicks in a single season. The male also spends time in the nesting hollow. The young leave the nesting hollow for the first time after 7-8 week, returning to roost for first few weeks.

Range
almost anywhere along the east coast of Australia from Cape York to Tasmania, both in towns and in the bush.

distribution map showing range of Trichoglossus haematodus in Australia

Credits:
Map is from Atlas of Living Australia website at https://biocache.ala.org.au licensed under Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License.



Classification
Class:Aves
Order:Psittaciformes
Family:Psittacidae
Genus:Trichoglossus
Species:haematodus
Common Name:Rainbow Lorikeet

Relatives in same Genus
  Scaly-breasted Lorikeet (T. chlorolepidotus)
  Red-collared Lorikeet (T. rubritorquis)