This is a very small bird, which is mostly bright green, with a black bill surrounded by a red face. It can also be called Red-faced or Tiny Lorikeet; Little or Red-faced Lory; Green Parakeet; Keet, Green Keet, Green Leek, Jerryang, Gizzie or Slit.

Similar species:

The Musk Lorikeet, Glossopsitta concinna, is larger and does not have red on the throat. The male of Double-eyed Fig-Parrot, Cyclopsitta diophthalma, of race marshalli, has blue on the ends of its wings.

Where does it live?

Distribution:

It is found In a wide band around the coast of eastern Australia, from about Cairns to south-eastern SA.

Habitat:

This lorikeet lives in forest, woodland, trees along watercourses and in open padddocks. It is mainly found in dry, open sclerophyll forests and woodlands, dominated by Eucalypts.

Seasonal movements:

Little Lorikeets are nomadic.

What does it do?

Feeding:

The Little Lorikeet eats flowers and fruit, especially nectar from bloodwoods and melaleucas.

Breeding:

The Little Lorikeet nests in holes in tree limbs or in the main trunk of a tree, in for example, River Red Gums, Eucalyptus camaldulensis, Flooded Gums, E. grandis, or River Oaks, Casuarina cunninghamiana. The eggs are lain on decayed wood in the tree hollow. Both members of a pair clean out the hollow, but only the female does the incubation. Hoever the male roosts in the hollow at night and sometimes during the day.

References:

Field guide to Australian Birds.

Field Guide to the Birds of Australia.

Handbook of Australian, New Zealand and Antarctic Birds, Volume 4 {(Parrots} to Dollarbird)

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