Blue-crowned Lorikeet
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| Blue-crowned Lorikeet | ||||||||||||||
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| Vini australis (Gmelin, 1788) |
The Blue-crowned Lorikeet, Vini australis, is a parrot found throughout the Samoa and Tonga islands and Lau archipelago, including: ʻAlofi, Fotuhaʻa, Fulago, Futuna, Haʻafeva, Niuafoʻou, Moce, Niuē, Ofu, Olosega, Sāmoa, Savaiʻi, Tafahi, Taʻu, Tofua, Tonga, Tungua, ʻUiha, ʻUpolu, Varoa, Vavaʻu, and Voleva. It is a 19cm green lorikeet with a red throat, blue crown, and belly patch shading from red at the top to purple at the bottom.
It is still common, but declining on some islands, apparently from predation by rats. They frequent areas with flowering trees, including coconut plantations and gardens, usually in small flocks (<15) or pairs during breeding season. It eats nectar, pollen, and soft fruits, especially wild hibiscus and coconut. Nests in holes in trees but may also dig burrows in earth banks. Also known as
- Blue-crowned Lory
- Blue-crested Lory
- Solomon Lory
- Samoan Lory
- Segavao (Samoa)
- Henga (Tonga)
[edit] References
- Juniper & Parr (1998) Parrots: A Guide to Parrots of the World; ISBN 0-300-07453-0.
- Forshaw (2006) Parrots of the World: An Identification Guide; ISBN 0-691-09251-6.
