Musk Lorikeet
| Musk Lorikeet | ||||||||||||
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Musk Lorikeet |
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| Systematics | ||||||||||||
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| Scientific name | ||||||||||||
| Glossopsitta concinna | ||||||||||||
| ( Shaw , 1791) |
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The musk lorikeet ( Glossopsitta concinna ) is a kind from the family of authentics Parrots . Like all members of the musk loris, musk loris occur exclusively in Australia. In large parts of southeastern Australia and Tasmania, the musk lory is the most common species of lory. There are two subspecies.
Musk Loris are a small species of Lori and have the laterally compressed beaks characteristic of this subfamily of the real parrots. They are birds of the treetop region that rarely settle on the ground. They mainly feed on pollen and nectar and have a tongue that is adapted to this diet. The elongated papillae at the tip of the tongue are used to eat pollen and nectar from flowers.
Appearance
Musk Loris reach a body length of 22 centimeters and weigh between 60 and 90 grams.
Male musk loris have predominantly green plumage. On the underside of the body, it is paler and more yellowish. The facial drawing is striking. A broad red band extends over the forehead and reins to the nape of the neck. The parting and the back of the head are blue. The neck and front back are brownish gray with a tinge of green. There are extensive yellow areas of feathers on the chest, which are not visible when the wings are closed. The under wing-coverts are yellowish green. The tail is green and has an orange-red tint at the base of the inner lobes. The beak is very small and delicate. It's black with a coral tip. The iris is orange. The legs are greenish-brown.
Females are similar to males, but are generally a little paler in color. The blue area of feathers on the crown is a little less extensive.
Young birds are even more duller in color than the females. This weaker color on the parting, neck and front back is particularly noticeable. Their beak is still mostly brown. Only the cut edges are already black. The iris is brown.
The flight of the musk loris is very straight and fast. A whirring beat of wings can be heard. During the flight, they let out a high-pitched, metallic scream that functions as a contact call.
Distribution area
Musk loris are native to southeast Australia. They occur from southeast Queensland to Tasmania and reach Kangaroo Island in a westerly direction . The nominate form Glossopsitta concinna concinna is limited to mainland Australia. The subspecies Glossopsitta concinna didimus occurs exclusively in eastern Tasmania. The only difference to the nominate form is that the blue feather area on the top is less pronounced. In females this is almost completely absent.
Musk loris live nomadically in most regions of their range. Your hikes are subject to a regular seasonal course. Since they are dependent on flowering plants as pollen and nectar eaters, the flowering time of the plants is an essential determinant of their migration. In the urban environment one increasingly notices that the musk loris is sedentary. This can be an adjustment to the year-round food supply that can be found in city parks and gardens.
habitat
Musk Loris are birds of forested rural areas. They are also found in closed, dense mountain forests, but only in a low population density. They prefer tree-lined, open landscapes and use gallery forests along watercourses as well as remaining tree islands on arable and pasture land. They have also adapted to urban living spaces and are populating gardens and parks.
behavior
Musk Loris mostly live in small family groups or schools. They are often associated with other Lori species as well as the swallow-tailed parakeet. In the tree tops they are very well camouflaged due to their green plumage. They stand out because they are very loud and their agile behavior moves leaves and inflorescences. The close pair bond can also be seen in the swarms.
Musk Loris are diurnal birds that leave their sleeping tree at sunrise. They look for food until midday, take a rest during the hottest part of the day and look for food again in the late afternoon. They return to their sleeping trees at sunset. The loud bickering over the best places to sleep is widely audible.
food
Musk Loris eat nectar, pollen, flowers, seeds, insects, fresh shoots and buds, as well as semi-ripe grains of maize, wheat and sorghum. The preferred food, however, is the pollen and nectar from eucalyptus flowers. Musk Loris occasionally undertake long migrations to get to this food source. They also eat leaf fleas and scale insects, which they peck from the underside of the leaves.
Reproduction
Musk Loris are cave breeders that prefer to breed in high caves in trunks or knotholes of eucalyptus trees. They prefer breeding caves whose entrance is so small that they can just squeeze through. If you use a living tree as a breeding tree, continuously nibble on the bark at the entrance to the breeding cave so that the bark does not grow over the hole. The peak of the breeding season falls in the period from August to January, but clutches have also been found in other months. The clutch comprises two eggs. These are weakly shiny and broadly elliptical. The eggs lie in the cave on wooden mole. The female breeds alone. The incubation period is 23 days. The young birds leave the nest cavity at around seven weeks. Most musk loris breed from their second year of life.
Keeping in human care
The London Zoo already held Musk Lorikeet in 1869. The world's first breeding was achieved by a private owner in Germany in 1903. The first Australian breeding in captivity, however, only succeeded in 1930.
literature
- 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 .
- PJ Higgins (Ed.): Handbook of Australian, New Zealand & Antarctic Bird. Volume 4: Parrots to Dollarbird. Oxford University Press, Oxford 1999, ISBN 0195530713 .
- Franz Robiller: Loris. Urania-Verlagsgesellschaft, Leipzig 1993, ISBN 3-332-00530-8 .
- Stan Sindel, James Gill: Australian Lorikeets. Singil Press, 2007, ISBN 9780958772785 .
Web links
- Glossopsitta concinna in the endangered Red List species the IUCN 2008. Posted by: BirdLife International, 2008. Accessed April 19 of 2009.
- Videos, photos and sound recordings for Glossopsitta concinna in the Internet Bird Collection