Little Lorikeet

Did you know?

The Little Lorikeet is Australia's smallest lorikeet. Its species name, pusilla, means tiny.

Calls
short, sharp, high screech - 'zit' or 'zit-zit'.
Facts and Figures
Research Species: 
No
Minimum Size: 
16cm
Maximum Size: 
18cm
Average size: 
17cm
Average weight: 
40g
Breeding season: 
May to November in north; June to December or January in south.
Clutch Size: 
3-5, usually 4.
Incubation: 
20 days
Conservation Status
Federal: 
QLD: 
SA: 
VIC: 
Associated Plants
Basic Information
Scientific Name: 
Featured bird groups: 
Atlas Number: 
260
What does it look like?
Description: 

This is a very small bird, which is mostly bright green, with a black bill surrounded by a red face. It can also be called Red-faced or Tiny Lorikeet;  Little or Red-faced Lory; Green Parakeet; Keet, Green Keet, Green Leek, Jerryang, Gizzie or Slit.

Similar species: 

The Musk Lorikeet, Glossopsitta concinna,  is larger and  does not have red on the throat. The male of Double-eyed Fig-Parrot, Cyclopsitta diophthalma, of race marshalli, has blue on the ends of its wings.

Where does it live?
Distribution: 

It is found In a wide band around the coast of eastern Australia, from about Cairns to south-eastern SA.

Habitat: 

This lorikeet lives in forest, woodland, trees along watercourses and in open padddocks. It is mainly found in dry, open sclerophyll forests and woodlands, dominated by Eucalypts.

Seasonal movements: 

Little Lorikeets are nomadic.

What does it do?
Feeding: 

The Little Lorikeet eats flowers and fruit, especially nectar from bloodwoods and melaleucas.

Breeding: 

The Little Lorikeet nests in holes in tree limbs or in the main trunk of a tree, in for example, River Red Gums, Eucalyptus camaldulensis, Flooded Gums, E. grandis, or River Oaks, Casuarina cunninghamiana. The eggs are lain on decayed wood in the tree hollow. Both members of a pair clean out the hollow, but only the female does the incubation. Hoever the male roosts in the hollow at night and sometimes during the day.

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