LORIES & LORIKEETS

BY
DICK SCHROEDER

This colorful group of parrots is probably the most misunderstood in the avian world. Many people still to refer to them as softbills. Nope, they are parrots, in the Family Psittacidae, subfamily Loriinae. There are fifty-six species of lories, with numerous distinct sub-species. Also referred to as the "brush tongued" parrots, these dazzling clowns of the bird world frequent the flowering trees and shrubs of the tropical South Pacific. Generally found in flocks, they range throughout the islands of Indonesia, French Polynesia, New Guinea, and Australia.

The elongated papillae, or brushes on the tongue of lories is an adaptation for the collecting of pollen from flowers. Some species have amazingly long tongues (they can lick above their eyes!) which they use to probe deep into a flower. The pollen sticks to the "brush" and is drawn back into mouth. They also feed on nectar when it is available, along with the flowers themselves, fruit, unripe seeds, and a few insects. The insects are probably incidental to the collecting of the pollen and nectar. Either pollen or nectar can be the principle food, the pollen supplies the nitrogen while the nectar is a major source of carbohydrates. In field observations conducted in Australia it was noted that both the Purple-crowned Lorikeet Glossopsitta porphyrocephala and the Swainson's Lory Trichoglossus heamatodus moluccanus could harvest all of the pollen and/or nectar that they required to meet their daily nutritional needs in 2 or 3 hours. Thus they would have ample time to locate suitable flowering trees.

Lory or lorikeet? The difference between the two is approximately the same as the difference between a parrot and a parakeet. Lory generally refers to a bird with a short tail, while lorikeets have a long tail. The words are synonymous. As I recall when visiting Australia several years ago, all were called lorikeets regardless of size or shape of the tail.

Re: size, lories range from the tiny Wilhelmina's Lorikeet Charmosyna wilhelminae 5" (13cm) to the small amazon sized Yellow-streaked Lory Chalcopsitta sintillata sintillata and the Duivenbode's Lory C. duivenbodei duivenbodei at 12" (30cm). The award for the largest lory overall would have to go to the beautiful Stella's Lorikeet Charmosyna papou stellae 15 1/2" (39cm) but the Stella's body is a mere 7" (18cm) while the long central tail feathers make up the difference. To me, one of the most beautiful birds on earth!

Lories have extremely strong feet as well as super sharp nails. They spend more time hanging sideways and upside down from branches, than sitting up-right when feeding. They will even hang from the side of the cage to eat rather than sit on a perch. Some species will use their foot as a "hand" when feeding, similar to the larger parrots, while others have not exhibited this behavior. One partner of a pair may hold a grape with it's foot while both feed from it.

SPECIES AVAILABILITY AND APPROXIMATE PRICES

Descriptions here will be quite brief. For exact descriptions I suggest Joseph Forshaw's Parrots of the World. Since lories can no longer be imported into the US many once common species are going to disappear without some help from the breeders. I'll note which ones I feel are not well enough established to be kept as pets, or kept as pets for a few years then placed in a breeding situation. Some species become nippy at maturity and will most likely end up as breeders. The species that need help I'll mark I'll begin with my favorite!

Stella's Lorikeet Charmosyna papou stellae 15 1/2" (39 cm)
As noted above, the tail is longer than the body. One of the dimorphic (sexes are visually different) species. The wings are green, as is the mantle and upper tail. Head, under wing coverts, and underparts are scarlet. The scarlet on the breast has a purple sheen in the correct light. Hens have yellow thighs and lower back. There is a melanistic phase where the normal red is replaced by purple/black. In this phase the male has red thighs and lower back, the hen's being black. Very quiet, as are all of the Charmosynas. Even wild caught Stella's become quite tame. Wonderful birds! Always at play, rolling on the cage floor or swinging by one foot from the top. From New Guinea Among the priciest lories $1200- $1500 per pair.

Chattering Lories Lorius garrulus garrulus 12" (30cm)
All dark red except for the wings and thighs which are green. One of the better talking species and perhaps one of the cleverest at escaping or just being all around trouble makers. Great personalities, always up to something. If something is placed on top of their cage they will work endlessly until it's knocked to the floor. Food and water bowls must be attached to the cage, and even then they will likely become toys! There is a sub-specie, the Yellow-backed Lory L. g. flavopalliatus, which has a patch of yellow on the mantel. Either makes a great, if somewhat vocal pet. They produce a shrill, whistle-like call. Thankfully they don't do it very frequently. Still quieter than an amazon. From Islands of Indonesia $350 - $450 ea.

Black-capped Lory L.lory lory & sub-species. 12" (30cm)
The coloring of each sub-specie is different, but basically they have the head and upper breast red except for a black cap which has a purple gloss. Underparts and mantle, dark blue (the extent depends on the sub-specie), wings are green. abdomen bright blue as is the hind-neck. Beautiful!! Another of the larger species and one of the most beautiful as well. Excellent talkers, excellent pets. Some of the rarer sub-species should be kept as breeders rather than pets. Can be noisy but infrequently. Fairly hard to find and in much demand because of their pet quality. From New Guinea. $600 and up.

Black Lory Chalcopsitta atra atra 12" (30cm)
One of the rarities of the parrot world, a nearly 100% black bird. The under tail is red and yellow. Young birds have red feathers scattered throughout the plumage. This species along with it's cousins, the Yellow-streaked C. sintillata sintillata another very beautiful lory with a dark green body set off by bright red forehead, lores, thighs, underwings and the underside of the tail. The green parts of the plumage are covered with electric yellow streaking. And the Duivenbode's C. duivenbodei which is mostly dark brown. The head is has a golden yellow ring around the face. The forehead is yellow. Underwings and thighs are bright yellow. There is a violet/blue patch on the lower back. These three probably are among the best of pets. They crave human attention and love to rough house, but are also very gentle. Noise can be a factor, especially when excited, such as at feeding time, but their personalities greatly over come this negative. Handfed babies of all three species are in great demand as pets, but there is a shortage of female Duivenbode's, so when possible sex should be determined and hens held for breeding. In my opinion, any of these make one of the best of the larger lories for pets. All from New Guinea and all about the same price. $500 - $600 ea.

Red Lory Eos bornea bornea 12" (30cm)
Almost entirely red, with some black and blue on the wings. From the Mollucan Islands. One of the most commonly kept pet lories and one of the easiest to breed. A favorite with many, as are most of the red colored lories. This too is an excellent talker. Some having whole sentences in their vocabulary. Unfortunately their lory voice is at times quite loud, with a high pitched screech. Most stay tame, even in maturity. They can be prolific breeders and are quite easy to find as hand reared pets. $250 - $300 ea.

Rainbow Lory Trichoglossus haematodus ?
Forshaw recognizes 21 sub-species of this group. Not all are found in captivity and fewer still in the pet market. They come from New Guinea and the surrounding islands. The most common are listed here with brief descriptions:

Green-naped Lory T. h. haematodus 11" (26cm)
This is the most common of the "Rainbow" lories. Mostly blue head. Lower throat and breast are bright red with a heavy barring of purplish-black. Abdomen is green. They can be good pets, but some individuals become nippy, especially at sexual maturity. Not terribly noisy and can speak fairly well. Priced about the same as the Red Lory. $250 - $300

Edwards's Lory T.h. capistratus 11" (27cm)
From Timor. Forehead, cheeks, and chin are dark blue. Upper breast is yellow with narrow green edges to the feathers. Males may have a little red in their edging. Don't count on this as being an absolute re: sex, but it does seem to be true much of the time. Abdomen is dark green. One of the quieter "rainbows" and possibly the best pet quality. Usually remaining tame forever. They will speak. $325 - $400

Swainson's Lorikeet (Blue Mountain Lory) T.h. moluccanus 12" (30cm)
Australia. Undoubtedly the prettiest of the "rainbows". Bright violet-blue head, with even brighter blue shaft-streaking. Breast is a mixture of red and yellow, giving an overall orange appearance. There is no barring. The blue of the abdomen matches the head. Noise not a factor here. Fairly scarce in the US due to Australia not exporting them in 30 years. A few entered the country several years ago as captive raised from New Zealand. Very common in their native range. Excellent pets and good talkers. $350 - $450.

Blue-streaked Lory Eos reticulata 12" (30cm)
Tenimber Island. Another mainly red lory with striking bright blue streaks on the mantle and hind neck. There is some blue on the sides of the face as well. Black is found in the wings and tail. The Blue-streak is listed on CITIES appendix 1, highly endangered. It was the first lory so listed, but they are doing well in captivity and make excellent, quiet pets. Handfed youngsters can not get enough of people. They make very lovable companions. Many speak well. $375 - $450

Dusky Lory Pseudeos fuscata 9 1/2" (24cm)
New Guinea. The Duskies have two color phases, orange and yellow. A typical orange phase bird has a mainly dark brown head and face, as well as the entire upper body, except for a white or cream colored rump. The crown is bronze. There is a bright orange collar at the upper breast. Beneath that is dark brown edged in cream, then another brilliant orange band, with a mixture of dark brown and fiery orange on the abdomen. There is an area of bare, orange skin at the sides of the lower mandible. In the yellow phase, the orange areas are replaced by bright yellow. The orange is more common and a pair of orange birds can produce yellow young. Maybe the most playful of the lories, excellent pets and great talkers. The only drawback is their terrible, high pitched screeching! They would never work in an apartment. Prices around $350 for either color.

Goldie's Lorikeet Tricholossus goldiei 7" (19cm)
New Guinea Great little parrot. The forehead and crown are scarlet, while the cheeks are purple with dark blue streaks. The upper parts dark green. The under parts are yellowish-green with dark green longitudinal streaks (like a water melon). They seldom make a sound and make wonderful pets, staying tame forever. I don't think you could make one bite you! They are also fairly prolific breeders and are pretty well established in captivity. The perfect 1st lory. $175 - $250

ACCOMMODATION

Lories have the partially deserved reputation of being messy birds. I say only partially deserved because all birds are messy. It's just a different type of mess. Seed eating parrots and finches cover the area around their cage with seed hulls and tiny feathers, African greys and cockatoos cause the surrounding furniture to become covered with a fine, white powder. Mynah birds flick bits of fruit around. Since lories have a mostly liquid and fruit diet, they consequently have liquid droppings. How much mess they make depends a lot on the individual bird. If you have one that spends a good deal of it's time sitting on a perch, rather than hanging from the side of it's cage, then most of the mess will wind up on the floor of the cage. On the other hand, if it's one that frequents the cage sides, a good deal of the droppings will wind up outside of the cage. They can "squirt" beyond the capabilities of most seed catchers, so it's best to develop some means to protect the surrounding area. A plastic chair mat on the floor is a good start, as well as some kind of washable protection for the walls nearby. I've seen anything from clear plastic sheeting (Visquene) to acrylic of plastic laminate panels. There are acrylic cages available, but I don't care for them. It makes a restricted bird seem all the more confined, and lories love to climb and scramble about, so a standard, high quality, parrot cage should be provided. Preferably one that is powder coted for ease of cleaning, and as large as the space you have will allow.

In an outdoor aviary they are the easiest birds to maintain, as all of their waste can simply be hosed away, no seed hulls to sweep up or sticky, green and white droppings running down the side of the cage to scrub off. Lory droppings are mostly clear or beige. A word of caution about placing lories in mixed specie aviaries. Some lories can be very aggressive toward other birds, while others will mingle just fine. The worst is probably the Chattering. They seem to take great pleasure in doing in other birds in their territory. We have bred several of the smaller species in colonies, as well as in mixed softbill flights without a problem.

FEEDING

Years ago, anyone keeping lories had his/her own diet that had to be made from scratch every few days at least. Most of these bordered on witchcraft, as everyone was certain that their birds just had to have this or that item included in the diet, for better or worse. Amazingly most of these "home brews" worked satisfactorily enough to keep the birds in seeming good health and even provided for some breeding. As lories became more available and popular commercial feeds were developed, first in Europe (Nekton and Biotropic) then in the US, (Lories Delight and Avico Lory Life). These brands a possibly a few others, are widely available to lory keepers and provide a couple of things that the home made diets do not. They are very simple to use, for the most part just add water (for the nectars) of provide a clean dry bowl (for the dry diets) and they were developed by professional nutritionists to provide all of the known dietary requirements. For those who still like making up their "witches brew" I suggest using one of the available lory mixes as the basis and adding fruit or vegetables to it in a blender. We feel that lories should not have an all "dry" diet. If this is the predominate factor in the diet we suggest lots of supplemental fruit and plenty of fresh water.

Lories will not do well on a diet to high in protein 15% should be the maximum. They are highly susceptible to gout and suffer kidney and liver problems as well. They should not be fed an amazon type of diet, full of legumes and such, as this is too much protein. Most any fruit is fine, but I would avoid avocado and pomegranates. We do fed the former to our softbills, but not to the parrots, and I know of three cases of lories becoming impacted on pomegranates. There are probably many who have eaten them with out a problem, but why take the chance? Lories have also been found to be susceptible to hemochromatosis (iron storage disease) and for that reason I would not offer raisins or other high iron content fruits.

We have hand reared many lories of many species and have had good results with several diets. There are certainly others besides the following, but these are the ones we can speak from experience on. Kaytee Exact (original formula) works great, and we have used it with success on many softbills as well as the parrots.

Avico Lory Life (either the Powder or the Nectar) mixed with baby applesauce (about 30%) works great as well.
Baby lories tend to cry more than other baby parrots, even when full. This should be no cause for alarm.

LORY ORGANIZATIONS

FURTHER READING ON LORIES

Rosemary Low Enclopedia Lories Hancock house Publishing 1998

Parrots of the World by Joseph Forshaw Landsdown, Melburne Australia 1973 other editions available.

Lories and Lorikeets by Rosemary Low. Paul Elek Ltd. London England 1977.

Australian Lorikeets by Stan Sindel. Surrey Beatty & Sons, NSW Australia 1987.