Rainbow Lorikeets ~ All beak & In your Face!
Taken in Picacho Peak, AZ at Rooster Cogburn Ranch
Feb 2010. Taken with Canon Powershot sx10is. Took the girls out for a few hours. It was a nice day and they love tp feed these guys. If you are anywhere near Picacho Peak, you should stop. Thought this was funny and cute!
The Rainbow Lorikeet is very colourful – almost every colour of the rainbow can be found on their feathers. They are not large birds, with a Rainbow Lorikeet’s length ranging from 25–30 cm (9.8-11.8 in) in size, and have a wingspan of about 17 cm (6.7 in). The markings of the best known subspecies T. h. moluccanus are particularly striking. The features distinguishing a Rainbow Lorikeet include a dark blue or violet-blue head and stomach, a bright green back, tail and vent, and an orange breast and beak. Several subspecies have darker scalloped markings across the orange or red breast.
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.
