
Australian Lorikeets #1

by Blair Stuart
Title
Australian Lorikeets #1
Artist
Blair Stuart
Medium
Photograph - Digital Images
Description
Original capture shot at a rural Roadhouse on the Queensland / New South Wales border.
The Rainbow Lorikeet, (Trichoglossus haematodus) is a species of Australasian parrot found in Australia, eastern Indonesia (Maluku and Western New Guinea), Papua New Guinea, New Caledonia, Solomon Islands and Vanuatu. In Australia, it is common along the eastern seaboard, from Queensland to South Australia and northwest Tasmania. Its habitat is rainforest, coastal bush and woodland areas. Several taxa traditionally listed as subspecies of the Rainbow Lorikeet are increasingly treated as separate species.
The Rainbow Lorikeet is a medium sized parrot, with the length ranging from 25�30 cm (9.8-11.8 in) in size, and has a wingspan of about 17 cm (6.7 in). The weight varies from 75�157 g (2.6�5.5 oz). The plumage of the nominate race, as with all subspecies, is very bright. The head is deep blue with a greenish-yellow nuchal collar, and the rest of the upperparts (wings, back and tail) are deep green. The chest is red with blue-black barring. The belly is deep green, and the thighs and rump are yellow with deep green barring. In flight a yellow wing-bar contrasts clearly with the red underwing coverts. There is little to visually distinguish between the sexes. Juveniles have a black beak which gradually brightens to orange in the adults. The markings of the best known subspecies T. h. moluccanus resemble those of the nominate race, but with a blue belly and a more orange breast with little or no blue-black barring. Other subspecies largely resemble either the nominate race or T. h. moluccanus, or are intermediate between them. Two exceptions are T. h. flavicans and T. h. rosenbergii. In the rather variable T. h. flavicans the green of some individuals is dull, almost olivaceous,[8] but in others the green hue approaches that typical of the Rainbow Lorikeet. T. h. rosenbergii is highly distinctive and several features separates it from all other subspecies: Its wing-bars are deep orange (not contrasting clearly with the red underwing coverts in flight), the entire nape is yellow bordered by a narrow red band and the dark blue barring to the red chest is very broad.
Behaviour: 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 Miner, but also larger and more powerful birds such as the Australian Magpie.
Image � 2011 Stuart Media Services All Rights Reserved
Uploaded
July 7th, 2012
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Comments (9)

Blair Stuart
Thank you Sandi, for the Feature in your "Beauty of this World" Group it is much appreciated.

Blair Stuart
Thank you Krista, for the Feature in your "Collectors Treasures" Group it is much appreciated.

Roger Wedegis
Awesome! Nice capture, Blair! It must be amazing to see these gorgeous birds in the wild! v/f
Blair Stuart replied:
Thanks Roger, appreciate your visit as always. Thanks for the kind feedback and F/V. They are indeed quite an amazing bird and a delight to see up close.