Hello all. I used to live in Knox, in the eastern suburbs of Melbourne, and there was a vast array of birdlife. Most of which were extremely common varieties. Since moving to South Morang, we have found quite a noisy critter inhabiting the local eucalypts. It seems to be a Musk Lorikeet but i have noticed a few peculiarities. It hangs out with Rainbow Lorikeets en masse, about 10 of each at the same time in the tree. The question i am asking, is if there is a sub-species of the Musk Lorikeet as the red band on the birds that i am observing is a lot more brilliant than photos i have seen, and the flight feathers are in fact red, not brown as suggested?
Cheers all.
I suspect your birds are Musks all right. Light effects can make appearance vary.
See this gallery of images. All are "clickable" to enlarge.
http://photogallery.canberrabirds.org.au/parrots.htm#MULK
Swift Parrots do have bright red underwing, but they have a red face, not the red band over the beak to which you refer (and red under tail).
As for mixing with Rainbows, many Lorikeets travel in mixed feeding flocks. Remember that Rainbows are undergoing a population explosion - they never were found in Melbourne until the early 1960s. Similar story elsewhere, along the coast. So, they are invading thanks to humans having created appropriate feed sources (gardens). So they might be taking over from the Musks, slowly.
Cheers
Denis
Denis Wilson
www.peonyden.blogspot.com
Thanks Denis
I am spitballing here, but if that is the case, i suspect that their noisy chatter could be a "bird screaming match" with the unwanted bogan Rainbows neighbours, moving into their peaceful suburbs! There seems to be a scramble once both breeds are in our trees at the same time. There is plenty to go around, but they insist on a never-ending squawk-fest with the Rainbows. Entertaining stuff.