Rainbow Lorikeet — printable fact sheet
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Rainbow Lorikeet
Trichoglossus moluccanus
Trichoglossus moluccanus does not have the crushing seed-cracking bill of most parrots, and the reason is inside its mouth: the tongue tip carries a brush of erectile papillae that mop up nectar and pollen, and the bird's digestive tract is short, with a thin-walled gizzard, bec…
Did you know?
- Unlike many parrots, Rainbow Lorikeets do not eat seeds and instead rely primarily on nectar, making them vital pollinators in their ecosystems.
- A rainbow lorikeet has been recorded getting drunk on fermented nectar, and lorikeets found staggering and falling from trees in the Northern Territory's wet season are a well-known local sight. The brush tongue can be extended and retracted rapidly, and a feeding lorikeet works a flower head with a rasping, licking motion completely unlike a seed-eating parrot's bite. Their vivid pattern is broken up by the abrupt change from blue head to orange breast to green back, which sounds gaudy but works as disruptive camouflage among sunlit blossom.
What I learned
Draw the rainbow lorikeet
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