Ornate Lorikeet
Trichoglossus ornatus
A striking, brightly-colored long-tailed parrot confined to Sulawesi and satellite islands. Green with an orange bill, a purple face, a red throat and red-barred chest, and a prominent yellow stripe on the side of the neck. Juveniles have a brown bill and a yellow belly. Found in pairs or small parties in upper levels of forest and wooded areas, including plantations, in lowlands and foothills. Unmistakable, as it is the only long-tailed parakeet with red markings in its limited range. Utters various shrill screeches such as “KREET!” and “SKEET!”
Identification
The ornate lorikeet is a mainly green parrot about 25 cm (10.0 in) long. Its head above its eyes is purple-blue and its face below its eyes is red. There is red at back of the head and yellow behind the eyes. It does not have a collar at the back of the neck that rainbow lorikeets have. Its chin to chest has transverse strips and bars of red and blue. Its abdomen is green with sparse variable yellow scalloping. The beak is orange-red, the irises are dark orange, the eye-ring is dark grey, and the legs are grey.
Taxonomy
The ornate lorikeet was formally described by the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus in 1758 in the tenth edition of his Systema Naturae under the binomial name Psittacus ornatus. Linnaeus based his description of the "Lory Parrakeet" that had been described and illustrated in 1751 by George Edwards in his "A Natural History of Uncommon Birds". Linnaeus mistakenly specified the location as "America" although Edwards had stated that the bird had come from the "East Indies" (actually the Indonesian island of Sulawesi).<p>The ornate lorikeet was formerly placed in the genus Trichoglossus but was moved to a newly introduced genus Saudareos based on the results of a molecular genetic analysis of the lorikeets published in 2020.
- Scientific name
- Trichoglossus ornatus
- Authority
- (Linnaeus, 1758)
- Order
- Psittaciformes
- Family
- Psittaculidae
- Genus
- Trichoglossus
Range and habitat
- Migration
- Resident species
Behavior
The ornate lorikeet usually gathers in pairs or in small flocks, though large flocks have been observed. It may sometimes form mixed flocks with the yellow and green lorikeet.
Conservation
- Population trend
- declining
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
Other Birds
White-winged Widowbird
Euplectes albonotatus
The breeding male is black with a pale blue bill, brightly-colored shoulder epaulets (chestnut in northeast Africa, yellow elsewhere), and diagnostic white wing panels that are most obvious in flight. The distinctive display is a slow butterfly-like flapping. The non-breeding male is buffy and streaky, but retains the shoulder epaulets and wing panel. The female lacks the wing pattern and has a pale unstreaked belly. Pairs and flocks are resident with local movements in open savanna, brushy grassland, swamps, and cultivated areas.
Gray's Grasshopper Warbler
Helopsaltes fasciolatus
An odd, thrush-like warbler; extremely shy and seldom seen as it lurks about in dense undergrowth. The largest grasshopper-warbler, with a distinctly robust appearance. Matte brown with pale brow, throat, and belly. Complete lack of streaking distinguishes this species from Middendorff’s and Pallas’s grasshopper-warblers; white throat and pale brow distinguish Gray’s from the much browner Pleske’s Warbler. Slightly warmer-colored Sakhalin Grasshopper-Warbler is extremely similar but has a whiter throat, a thicker brow, and more extensive brown on the underside.
Arctic Warbler
Phylloscopus borealis
Dull, relatively unmarked olive-brown warbler with a prominent yellowish-white eyestripe, faint wingbars, and pale whitish underparts. Visually inseparable from Japanese and Kamchatka Leaf Warblers; listen for song, an electric chattery trill. Also gives a metallic two-noted call and a short harsh buzz. Breeds in shrubby areas, often near water, throughout the Eurasian taiga. Breeding range extends to Alaska, where it is the only leaf warbler. Winters in lowland and foothill forest, forest edge, and gardens, primarily in Southeast Asia.
Start Your Bird Watching Journey
Identify a bird outdoors and keep the field guide close for your next observation.