MUSK LORIKEETS IN FRED CATERSON RESERVE
The Musk Lorikeet is a medium-sized, sturdy lorikeet, sometimes seen in large flocks when trees are flowering. This lorikeet is mostly green, with a yellow patch at the side of the breast. It has a bright red forehead and band through the eye to the ear coverts. The crown is blue, with females having less blue than males. In flight, brown flight feathers and the golden tail are revealed.
This lorikeet is considered nomadic, following the flowering or fruiting of food trees and travelling widely for food. Declines in Musk Lorikeet populations have been caused by the clearance of eucalypts for agriculture.
Musk Lorikeets are found in tall, open, dry forest and woodlands dominated by eucalypts. They are also seen in suburban areas, parks and street trees. There are many sightings of them in and near Fred Caterson reserve.
Musk Lorikeets breed in hollow branches and holes in living eucalypts, often near watercourses. The entrance holes are usually very small, so they have to squeeze in.
While they can be difficult to identify when high in the canopy, look for birds feeding lower in trees and constantly chattering. You can also learn to recognise their flight which is fast and direct, with short angular wings and a medium-length, pointed to wedge-shaped tail. Also learn their shrill metallic screech, higher than the better-known Rainbow Lorikeet’s.
Did you know? Musk Lorikeets are gregarious, active and noisy, often mixing with other parrots and other birds when feeding, They eat mainly pollen and nectar from eucalypts using their specialised brush-tipped tongues, but also eat seeds, fruits and insects and their larvae.
Information provided by BirdLife Southern NSW in conjunction with BirdLife Australia's Birds in Backyards Program.
Photos provided by Ákos Lumnitzer