lirralirra

Rainbow Lorikeets chatter crazily as they feed, which is especially fabulous as it meant I knew they were among the blossoms, though I didn’t know I’d find a surprise Scaly-breasted Lorikeet calling in harmony.

I caught the lorikeet above in mid call. I often wonder what birds are saying to each other, ‘I’m still here, are you? Nectar’s good. Time to go.”

The calling lorikeet, above, is an adult bird as its bill is bright orange-red and its eye, or iris, is red whereas juvenile rainbows have brown bills and irises. Their heads are a beautiful blue, they have lime green collars and green upperparts. Their underparts are orange and yellow with blue tummy patches.

Looking at these images I’m reminded of a post I shared called Colourful Camouflage. It’s quite remarkable that such brightly coloured birds can hide like blossoms in a tree.

They are incredibly acrobatic as they feed. The image above shows a rainbow curled downwards to reach into a eucalyptus blossom. I love the way the image shows its wing and yellow under-tail sweeping along the branch in different directions, adding to the disruptive camouflage effect. The colours of its underbelly are exquisite peeking between the leaves.

And then came the surprise! A Rainbow Lorikeet that had forgotten to put its bonnet on before leaving home. I almost deleted this image as the bird was hard to see before I cropped in more closely. I’m stoked to have finally photographed a Scaly-breasted Lorikeet albeit in a most unexpected spot. I was on Phillip Island where there are records of them being seen a few years ago but nothing that I could find more recently. I put the image on the Facebook page Australian Bird Identification (a brilliant group) to ask whether it was likely to be a wild bird or an escapee. The concensus seems to be that there are populations of Scaly-breasted Lorikeets living in the wild, around Melbourne, that have become established from escapees. They are likely to hang around, literally, with Rainbow Lorikeets and sometimes interbreed.

Scaly-breasted Lorikeets are smaller than their rainbow cousins, and more commonly found in a wide band along the eastern coast of Australia.

Before I publish today’s post I’d like to mention two wonderful young women (who I vouch for 100%) who are fundraising for the Coalition Against Duck Shooting by doing a 40km walk. All funds raised will go towards items for rescuers, such as hi-vis vests, walkie-talkies, carry cages for injured birds etc GoFundMe Page for Duck Rescue

Happy birding

Kim

~ Facebook page Kim Wormald – lirralirra
~ Facebook group  Ethical Bird Photography