Birds
Rainbow Lorikeet
Trichoglossus moluccanus · also called rainbow lory, Swainson's lorikeet
The rainbow lorikeet is one of the most vivid birds anywhere — a blue head, green wings, and a chest of orange and yellow — and one of the loudest. It is also a specialist: its whole body is arranged around a diet of nectar and pollen.
Overview
Trichoglossus moluccanus lives along coastal eastern and northern Australia, with an introduced population around Perth. It is 25–30 cm long, flies fast and straight, and travels in screeching flocks that can number in the hundreds at a flowering tree.
Built for flowers
The tip of its tongue carries a brush of fine papillae that lift when feeding and sweep up nectar and pollen. Its gut is short and simple, matched to a liquid diet — which means it must feed often, wander to track flowering trees, and cannot handle the bread and honey mixes people offer in gardens.
Life in a flock
Rainbow lorikeets pair for life, preen each other constantly, and nest in tree hollows. Each summer in eastern Australia, some are found grounded and unable to blink by lorikeet paralysis syndrome, a condition whose cause is still unconfirmed.
Status
The rainbow lorikeet is Least Concern and increasing, boosted by suburban planting. Around Perth, where it does not naturally occur, it is managed as an invasive pest.
Rainbow Lorikeet: common questions
What does a rainbow lorikeet eat and why does it matter?
Its natural diet is dominated by nectar and pollen, with fruit and blossom making up most of the rest and only small amounts of insect matter for protein. This shapes the whole bird. The brush-tipped tongue is a feeding tool for flowers. The digestive system is short and simple because liquid nectar needs little processing, which also means the bird must feed often and cannot go long without food. Flocks are nomadic, tracking which trees are flowering across the landscape. It also means the common practice of feeding lorikeets bread, honey water, or seed mixes in gardens is harmful; those foods do not match their biology and are linked to malnutrition and disease.
Should you feed rainbow lorikeets in your garden?
Wildlife authorities in Australia advise against it. Artificial feeding draws unnaturally large numbers of birds to one spot, which spreads diseases such as psittacine beak and feather disease and a disfiguring condition called lorikeet balding syndrome, and the usual offerings of bread and honey or sugar water cause nutritional problems and can lead to weak bones and liver disease. It also makes the birds aggressive and dependent. The recommended alternative is to plant nectar-producing native trees and shrubs, which provides the right food on a natural schedule and supports many other species too.
Why are rainbow lorikeets so noisy?
They are highly social birds that live, travel, feed, and roost in flocks, and constant loud calling is how the flock stays coordinated, defends feeding trees, and keeps contact in flight and in dense foliage. Their calls are sharp, rolling screeches with little of the musical quality of a songbird. In the suburbs of Brisbane, Sydney, and other eastern cities, where garden flowers and planted natives have boosted their numbers, the dawn and dusk noise from a roost tree holding hundreds of birds is a common complaint.
Is the rainbow lorikeet endangered?
Not at all. It is one of the more successful parrots, listed as Least Concern with an increasing population. Suburban gardens full of flowering natives and exotics have given it a year-round food supply, and it has expanded its range and numbers over recent decades. The one place it is a conservation concern is Western Australia, where birds released or escaped around Perth in the 1960s established a feral population far from the species' natural range; that population is considered invasive and is subject to control to protect local crops and native parrots.