Blue Lorikeet
Vini peruviana
A unique and distinctive lorikeet, almost entirely a deep royal blue with a bright orange bill and feet and an extensive pure white throat, cheek, and chest patch. Inhabits any forest, but appears to favor coconut and banana plantations. Unique within its range. Common call is a trisyllabic “tse-tee-teet.”
Identification
The blue lorikeet is 18 cm long with a short rounded tail. Its plumage is mainly dark blue and it has a white area over its upper chest, throat and lower face. Erectile feathers on the top of its head show light blue streaks. Its beak is orange and its irises are yellow-brown. It has orange legs. Adult males and females have identical external appearance. The juvenile lacks the white plumage of the adult and has a dark grey-blue face and lower parts. The juvenile also has a black bill, dark brown irises, and its legs are orange brown. Blue plumage, which is shares with the related ultramarine lorikeet, is very unusual in the parrot order.
Taxonomy
- Scientific name
- Vini peruviana
- Authority
- (Müller, PLS, 1776)
- Order
- Psittaciformes
- Family
- Psittaculidae
- Genus
- Vini
Range and habitat
The blue lorikeet was originally endemic to the islands of French Polynesia.<p>It is also present in the Cook Islands, where it is one of a small number of landbirds on the island of Aitutaki. Dean Amadon, writing in 1942 after the Whitney South Seas Expedition, thought that it might have been introduced to the Cooks. David Steadman, who studied the extinct species of the areas, wrote in 1991 that it might have been but that he could find no evidence of this. Had it been native there it would have coexisted with Kuhl's lorikeet; today no Vini lorikeets are sympatric. He later concluded that it was probably introduced, as extensive excavations of fossils had found remains of Kuhl's lorikeet as well as two other species of extinct Vini lorikeet, but no fossils of the blue lorikeet.<p>The blue lorikeet will live in any wooded habitat within its range, including cultivated areas. It is most abundant in mixed stands of coconuts and Heliotropium foertherianum.
- Migration
- Resident species
Behavior
They roost in coconut palm trees, rising at dawn and calling and preening before feeding. They are usually found in small flocks of less than ten birds. They rest during the heat of the day in shade before resuming feeding in the afternoon. At dusk groups fly around calling until dark, when they retreat to spaces between palm leaves to roost for the night.<p>Blue lorikeets feed on the nectar and pollen of coconut palms (Cocos nucifera), Guettarda speciosa, Pemphis acidula, bay cedar (Suriana maritima), beach mulberry (Morinda citrifolia), Heliotropium foertherianum, Scaevola spp and Musa. On Rangiroa they fed mostly on coconut flowers during one three week study. They feed silently in small groups, and use their brush-like tongue to lap up nectar and pollen. Where flowers had not fully opened, they will use their bills to open them. After all the flowers on one tree have been fed at, they will move to the next tree, calling as they go. They also feed on insects among leaves and on the forest floor, and on leaf shoots and soft fruits.
Conservation
- Population trend
- declining
Photos
Distribution
Other Birds
Green-and-rufous Kingfisher
Chloroceryle inda
Fairly small kingfisher, unique with its green back and entirely rufous belly. Most similar to American Pygmy Kingfisher but nearly twice as large, and without American Pygmy's white lower belly. Sexes similar, but female has speckled green band across chest. Found singly along slow-moving streams or swamps. Usually seen perched inconspicuously just above the water.
Bicolored Hawk
Astur bicolor
Widespread but uncommon forest hawk of tropical America. Adults are mostly gray, darker on crown and upperparts, with two pale tail bands and rufous thighs that are often hidden from view. Belly is tinged rufous and faintly barred in the southern part of its range. Immature looks remarkably like a forest-falcon, but note its yellow eye and lack of dark crescent on face. Overlaps with the similar Rufous-thighed Kite in parts of South America. Bicolored Hawk is larger, lacks a vertical stripe on the throat, usually stays inside forest, and almost never soars. Feeds mainly on birds and is generally quiet and elusive. Birds from central and southern Chile as well as adjacent parts of Argentina are now considered a separate species, Chilean Hawk.
Rufous-vented Tapaculo
Scytalopus femoralis
A fairly common cloud forest tapaculo found in the eastern Andes of northern and central Peru. Adult is gray with brown bars on the lower underparts. Young birds are browner and extensively marked with buff bars and scales. Similar to Trilling Tapaculo and Junin Tapaculo, and identification should be based on range and voice. Rufous-vented Tapaculo gives sharp chips and low frog-like notes, either alone or in an accelerating series. Inhabits forest understory and usually tough to see.
Start Your Bird Watching Journey
Identify a bird outdoors and keep the field guide close for your next observation.