Red-fronted Lorikeet
Hypocharmosyna rubronotata
A small, long-tailed lorikeet. Green body with black upper tail, red rump and a red bill. The male has a red forehead, violet-blue cheek and a red patch in front of the shoulder whereas the female has some yellow-streaking behind the eye. Very similar to Red-flanked Lorikeet, but male Red-fronted has a red patch on the forehead rather than chin and has less pronounced yellow wing bar in flight. Voice, a series of sharp, high-pitch, arhythmic “tsik!” notes.
Identification
The red-fronted lorikeet is around 17 cm (6.7 in) in length and weighs 30–35 g (1.1–1.2 oz). They are sexually dimorphic and exhibit a large difference in appearance between sexes. The males of rubronotata possess red forecrowns with red bills and orange eyes. They have purple or blue ear coverts which are streaked with a paler blue along with red underwing coverts. They have a yellow-tipped green tail, with the base of side tail feathers being red. The females have green forecrowns with green ear coverts which are streaked with green or yellow. They also have green underwing coverts and red markings on the upper tail coverts. The males of kordoana tend to have larger but paler forecrown along with ear coverts that more bluish than purple. The females look the same as rubronotata. Juveniles look the same as adult females, but juvenile males additionally have red underwing coverts and dark and unstreaked ear covert, a yellow underwing band. They have brown beaks with pale brown eyes.<p>They make soft, harsh sounds whole in flight. They have also been observed making sharp kss notes.
Taxonomy
This species was formerly placed in the genus Charmosyna. It was moved to the resurrected genus Hypocharmosyna based on a molecular phylogenetic study published in 2020.<p>Two subspecies are recognised:
- Scientific name
- Hypocharmosyna rubronotata
- Authority
- (Wallace, 1862)
- Order
- Psittaciformes
- Family
- Psittaculidae
- Genus
- Hypocharmosyna
Range and habitat
The red-fronted lorikeet inhabits northern New Guinea and the island of Biak. It is found in humid forest, forest edges and coconut plantations, and is also occasionally observed in trees and shrubs in open country up to an elevation of 900 m (3,000 ft) above sea level.
- Migration
- Resident species
Behavior
These parakeets have been observed in small flocks of up to 10 birds flying above the forest. They will feed with other species of lorikeet while feeding on flowers in the canopy.<p>The breeding season is in July-August. Eggs are laid in clutches of 2. The eggs are 17.0 mm × 13.5 mm (0.67 in × 0.53 in) in size. The eggs have an incubation period of 23 days, and chicks are fledged by the age of 7 weeks.<p>The lorikeets feed on pollen, nectar, flowers and seeds.
Conservation
The species is listed as least concern and seems to have a stable population.Listed as Cites II species on Cites Checklist.
- Population trend
- stable
Photos
Distribution
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