Living in Cairns, you’ve probably seen a million Rainbow Lorikeets flying around the trees. But if you want to see one up close, come meet ours in our Rainforest Aviary!
Rainbow Lorikeets have a bright red beak and very colourful plumage.
Unlike some other birds, both the male and female look similar, with a blue head and belly, green wings, tail and back, and an orange/yellow breast.
You’ll often spot them in loud and fast-moving flocks, or in communal roosts at dusk.
These beautiful birds are found in coastal regions across northern and eastern Australia. Interestingly, there is a local population in Perth, Western Australia, which came about as a result of birds being released from aviaries.
Rainbow Lorikeets prefer to use the flowers of shrubs or trees to harvest nectar and pollen. They also eat fruits, seeds and some insects.
They lay their eggs on decaying wood, generally in a hollow limb of a eucalypt tree. Both the male and the female help to prepare the nest cavity, and feed the young – but the female incubates the eggs.