Do Rainbow Lorikeets take-over other birds nests by force?
We have had a pair of Pale-Headed Rosella's nesting in a tree hollow in our backyard, but yesterday the mother Rosella was attacked by the pair of Lorikeets at the entrance of the hollow, and today the Lorikeets appear to have taken up residence in the hollow. (There were also 4 baby Rosella's in the hollow, which I would assume are now deceased).
Is such vicious behaviour normal for Lorikeets?
"He also tells a story about how Rainbow Lorikeets, perhaps released or escaped from captivity, took over some of the best nesting holes in Perth, on some occasions attacking local birds that were already in the holes, and killing them.
The fact that they like to make their nests in tree hollows is significant too, because there’s already a shortage of good tree hollows around the cities. That’s because big old trees are chopped down or pruned before they drop branches, reducing the chance of a decent hollow forming. So all the birds that need hollows for their nests are already finding things tough, and now they’re getting increasing competition for nesting spots from aggressive birds like Rainbow Lorikeets and Indian Mynahs."
From http://www.mdavid.com.au/lorikeet/lorikeet.shtml
Hope it helps
Thank-you Amateur for your quick reply, and for the link.
Yes, sadly it would then appear this is becoming common.
Rainbow Lorikeets are plentiful in my area, but not so for Pale-Headed Rosellas. As I'm in SE Qld the hollow has been shared by two pairs of Rosellas during each year. I'm told this is because one pair is the "Northern" variety, the other is the "Southern", which nest a different times. I will do some more research to see when Lorikeets nest, as I hope they don't end up dominating the hollow!
Regards,
Shane.
Yes Rainbow Lorikeets are a very aggressive species unfortunately - and the most common bird recorded in our backyard bird surveys.
I often wonder if they were brown, would people find them as delightful as they do?
I think you're 100% correct Holly! I've often watched the numerous Rainbow Lorikeets feeding in my backyard and have observed the way they chase-away other birds and generally bully their way around the place. If they weren't such an astonishingly attractive bird I think we'd be chasing them away! This is probably something that humans tend to do to each other as well, not just to birds, but that's a whole different story.
Regards,
Shane.