Rainbow Lorikeet
| Rainbow Lorikeet | ||||||||||||
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Mountain lorikeet ( Trichoglossus haematodus moluccanus ) |
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| Systematics | ||||||||||||
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| Scientific name | ||||||||||||
| Trichoglossus haematodus | ||||||||||||
| ( Linnaeus , 1771) |
The Rainbow Lorikeet or Wedge-tailed Lorikeet ( Trichoglossus haematodus ) is a species from the subfamily of Loris (Loriinae) - rarely also written Lories. Sometimes the names blue- cheeked lory and wide-banded lory or rainbow lory derived from the English can be found for this bird . Its distribution area extends from the east of Indonesia over Australia to Tasmania, in Australia it is the largest species of Lori. A distinction is made between up to 25 subspecies, with the number varying according to author.
features
Rainbow loris are brightly colored feathered birds with an orange-red beak. Depending on the subspecies, red, yellow or orange tones dominate the throat and upper chest, which contrast with the underlying dark, mostly blue, green or black areas of the stomach and thighs. The head is usually blue to black-brown pinnate. A light green, yellow or orange neck band is also typical. While the tail and the upper side of the wing are colored green, the underside of the wings is orange to red with a yellow band behind. Their eyes are mostly red. The birds reach a height of between 25 and 30 cm and a weight of 100 to 155 g.
Like all Loris, the Rainbow Lorikeet has a long, narrow tongue, the tip of which is densely covered with papillae . When a Lori sticks its tongue into a flower , these papillae straighten up. This absorbs the nectar like a sponge. When the bird pulls its tongue back into its beak, the nectar is expressed in folds of skin on the roof of the mouth.
The Rainbow Lorikeet's flight is fast and straightforward. When they travel greater distances, they often fly at considerable heights. Characteristic of their flight silhouette are the long, pointed wings, the long tail, as well as the orange-red lower wings and the dark blue lower abdomen.
distribution and habitat
Rainbow loris occur in East Indonesia, East Timor, New Guinea and the neighboring islands. In Australia, its distribution area extends from the Kimberley Division in Western Australia to the east over the Cape York Peninsula and the islands of Torres Strait to the south to Kangaroo Island and Tasmania . A continuous spread has been described for the Australian population. This is due to the fact that this Lori species also feels comfortable in urban habitats and quickly gets used to introduced food plants.
In Australia there are now also populations in regions that are not in the natural range. These are likely to have emerged from prisoner refugees. For example, there is a population in the catchment area of Perth in southwest Australia. A population of wild rainbow loris in Perth was first described in 1968.
Rainbow lorises are very adaptable birds. They are found in a number of very different habitats in Australia. This ranges from rainforests to dry eucalyptus forests, mallee and mangroves.
Way of life
behavior
Rainbow Lorikeets, like other species of Lori, live mainly on pollen and nectar. But they also eat flowers and buds, leaf tips, fruits, seeds and berries from both native and introduced plant species.
In addition to the special form of food intake, the all-color loris are also characterized by their agile behavior. Although they can fly up to 50 km a day in search of food, they are not considered to be extremely agile fliers, but rather the most agile climbers among the parrots. The birds, which live in pairs or in flocks of up to a few hundred specimens, always reveal themselves through their high-pitched croak, which is rather unpleasant for the human ear.
Reproduction
Rainbow Loris live in monogamy for life . During courtship, the male hops around the female, constantly rocking his head. Playful bellows, in which the partners often lie on their backs, precedes the frequent copulation . The whole thing is accompanied by constant shouting. As cave breeders , they look for hollow branches or tree hollows up to 25 m in height for a few weeks after mating. The female lays two to three eggs in the rotten wood padded nest, which she incubates for 23 to 26 days. During the breeding period, the birds are remarkably calm. Both parents take on the rearing of the young, which takes seven to eight weeks, and becomes sexually mature at around two years of age.
Subspecies and their distribution
The Rainbow Lorikeet is divided into up to 25 subspecies, depending on the author. The ones listed here with their area of distribution are assigned to the Rainbow Lorikeet by all sources:
- Pale-headed Rainbow Lorikeet ( T. h. Caeruleiceps Albertis & Salvadori , 1879) - southern New Guinea
- New Caledonia Rainbow Lorikeet ( T. h. Deplanchii J. Verreaux & Des Murs , 1860) - New Caledonia and Loyalty Islands
- Olive-green Lorikeet or Olive-green Lorikeet ( T. h. Flavicans Cabanis & Reichenow , 1876) - Lavongai , St. Matthias Islands and Admiralty Island
- Broad-banded Lorikeet, Broad-banded Rainbow Lorikeet or Moluccan Blue-cheeked Lorikeet ( T. h. Haematodus ( Linnaeus , 1771)) - Southern Moluccas and Western New Guinea
- Blue-headed Rainbow Lorikeet ( T. h. Intermedius Rothschild & Hartert , 1901) - North coast of New Guinea
- Massena Lorikeet or Narrow Banded Lorikeet ( T. h. Massena Bonaparte , 1854) - Eastern New Guinea, Louisiade Archipelago , Karkar , Bismarck Archipelago , Solomon Islands, and Vanuatu
- Mountain Lorikeet, Mountain Rainbow Lorikeet, Lori of the Blue Mountains, or Tasmania Blue-cheeked Rainbow Lorikeet ( T. h. Moluccanus ( Gmelin, JF , 1788)) - Eastern Australia and Tasmania
- Ninigo Rainbow Lorikeet ( T. h. Nesophilus Neumann , 1929) - Ninigo Islands , Hermit Islands , west of Manus and parts of Papua New Guinea
- Black-throated Rainbow Lorikeet ( T. h. Nigrogularis G. R. Gray , 1858) - Kai Islands , Aru Islands, and southern New Guinea
- Rosenbergs-Lori or Rosenbergs-Allfarblori ( T. h. Rosenbergii Schlegel , 1871) - Biak
On the other hand, the validity or assignment of the remaining subspecies to which the species status is partially assigned or the other species are assigned is controversial. In the following these are listed with the alternative allocation and the distribution area:
- Louisade Rainbow Lorikeet ( T. h. Aberrans Reichenow , 1918) (also T. aberrans )
- Western green-naped rainbow lorikeet ( T. h. Berauensis Cain , 1955)
- Brook's Rainbow Lorikeet ( T. h. Brooki Ogilvie-Grant , 1907) - Spriti Island (one of the Aru Islands)
- Blue-cheeked Rainbow Lorikeet, Edward's Rainbow Lorikeet also Edward's Rainbow Lorikeet ( T. h. Capistratus ( Bechstein , 1811)) (also T. capistratus ) - Timor
- Wetar's Rainbow Lorikeet ( T. h. Flavotectus Hellmayr , 1914) (also T. capistratus flavotectus ) - Wetar and Romang , possibly Atauro
- Sumba lorikeet ( T. h. Fortis Hartert , 1898) (also T. capistratus fortis ) - Sumba
- Forstenlori or Forsten-Allfarblori ( T. h. Forsteni Bonaparte , 1850) (also T. forsteni ) - Sumbawa
- Djampea's rainbow lorikeet ( T. h. Djampeanus Hartert , 1897) (also T. forsteni djampeanus ) - Jampea Island and south of Sulawesi
- Mitchell's Lori or Mitchell's Rainbow Lorikeet ( T. h. Mitchellii G. R. Gray , 1859) (also T. forsteni mitchellii ) - Bali and Lombok
- Stresemann's Lori or Stresemann's Allfarblori ( T. h. Stresemanni Meise , 1929) (also T. forsteni stresemanni ) - Kalaotoa island and south of Sulawesi
- Southern Green-naped Rainbow Lorikeet ( T. h. Micropteryx Stresemann , 1922) - Eastern New Guinea
- Red-necked Lorikeet ( T. h. Rubritorquis Vigors & Horsfield , 1827) (also T. rubritorquis ) - northern Australia
- Blue-bellied mountain lorikeet ( T. h. Septentrionalis Robinson , 1900) - Cape York Peninsula
- Weber's Lori or Weber's Allfarblori ( T. h. Weberi ( Buttikofer , 1894)) (also T. weberi ) - Flores
- T. h. eyrei Mathews , 1912
Keeping as an ornamental bird
The rainbow lorikeet, more precisely the mountain rainbow lorikeet, is said to have come to Europe between 1768 and 1771 by the English botanist Sir Joseph Banks , a companion of James Cook . The first pair was exhibited in the London Zoological Garden in 1868. The first offspring is documented for 1873.
Rainbow lorises are still often kept as ornamental birds . As a substitute for nectar, they are given a special food, the so-called Lori soup, which is available in stores. In addition, pollen, fruit, starchy seeds and twigs with buds should also be served.
Rainbow Loris are very susceptible to the psittacin beak and feather disease (PBFD; English for "feather and beak disease of parrots"). This is a highly contagious viral infection that occurs in parrot birds. It is the most common viral disease in parrots in Germany and now affects not only large parrots, but also budgies and other small parrot birds.
The causative agent of the PBFD is the Beak and Feather disease virus (BFDV) from the virus genus Circovirus . These are small, 12–21 nm large, non-enveloped DNA viruses . Circoviruses are very contagious. They have a high tenacity in the environment and are only safely inactivated by a few disinfectants (e.g. glutaraldehyde ) . The infection is done by oral uptake of the virus or an airborne droplet infection. Due to the high tenacity, indirect transmission through inanimate vectors (cage furniture, clothing, claw scissors, etc.) is also possible. The incubation period , i.e. the period from infection to actual disease, can stretch on for months or even years. Therefore, when buying animals, there is a very high risk of the disease being introduced into a bird house.
While PBFD is fatal in many parrot species, all color lorises usually only lose their plumage. It appears that the Rainbow Lorikeets have a natural resistance to this disease. The virus that affects them is also genetically different from the virus that affects other species of parrots. However, in order to keep the stocks free of this viral disease, an immediate killing of the diseased Loris is strongly recommended.
Others
The Rainbow Lorikeet in East Timor is a symbol of youth. Hence the name Lorico Asuwain (Lori warrior) for the young generation of independence activists of the 1990s. The color loris can therefore be found again and again as a symbol in East Timorese society.
literature
- Bruce M. Beehler, Thane K. Pratt: Birds of New Guinea: Distribution, Taxonomy, and Systematics. Princeton University Press, Princeton, New Jersey 2016, ISBN 978-0691164243 .
- Joseph M. Forshaw , illustrated by William T. Cooper: Australian Parrots. 1st German-language edition. Volume 1: Cockatoos and Lories. Arndt-Verlag, Bretten 2003, ISBN 978-3-9808245-1-4 .
- Peter J. Higgins (Ed.): Handbook of Australian, New Zealand & Antarctic Bird. Volume 4: Parrots to Dollarbird. Oxford University Press, Oxford 1999, ISBN 0-19-553071-3 .
- Stan Sindel, James Gill: Australian Lorikeets. Singil Press, 2007, ISBN 9780958772785 .
Web links
- Trichoglossus haematodus in the endangered Red List species the IUCN 2008. Posted by: BirdLife International, 2008. Accessed on December 18 of 2008.
- Videos, photos and sound recordings for Trichoglossus haematodus in the Internet Bird Collection
Individual evidence
- ↑ HE Wolters (1975–1982): The bird species of the earth. Berlin & Hamburg: Systematics quoted in: Werner Lantermann: Parrot science: Biology - behavior - keeping - species selection of parakeets and parrots. Parey, Berlin 1999, ISBN 3-8263-3174-5 .
- ↑ a b c d e Helmut Dost & Wolfgang Grummt : Parakeets and other parrots , Urania, Leipzig / Jena / Berlin 1982.
- ↑ a b Forshaw, p. 250.
- ↑ Sindel and Gill, p. 57.
- ↑ Sindel and Gill, p. 60.
- ↑ Sindel and Gill, p. 64.
- ↑ a b c d e f g h i j k l www.itis.gov - ITIS Standard report - as of 02.2009
- ↑ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n www.das-tierlexikon.de - entry on the Allfarblori
- ↑ www.vogelverein-badlauchstaedt.de
- ↑ www.zipcodezoo.com ( Memento from February 10, 2013 in the web archive archive.today )
- ^ Colin R. Trainor and Thomas Soares: Birds of Atauro Island, Timor-Leste (East Timor) , Forktail 20 (2004), pp. 41-48 .
- ↑ Sindel and Gill, pp. 45 and 46.
- ^ Dan Nicholson: The Lorikeet Warriors: East Timorese new generation nationalist resistance , 1989-99 , p. 25.