Bird Guide

Australian Ringneck vs Scaly-breasted Lorikeet

Australian Ringneck (Barnardius zonarius)

Australian Ringneck

Barnardius zonarius

Medium121 gForest

The subspecies of the Australian ringneck differ considerably in colouration. It is a medium size species around 33 cm (13 in) long. The basic colour is green, and all four subspecies have the characteristic yellow ring around the hindneck; wings and tail are a mixture of green and blue. The B. z. zonarius and B. z. semitorquatus subspecies have a dull black head; back, rump and wings are brilliant green; throat and breast bluish-green. The difference between these two subspecies is that B. z. zonarius has a yellow abdomen while B. z.

ID text from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0

Photo: Arthur Chapman · CC BY 2.0
Scaly-breasted Lorikeet (Trichoglossus chlorolepidotus)

Scaly-breasted Lorikeet

Trichoglossus chlorolepidotus

Medium87 gWoodland

The scaly-breasted lorikeet is about 23 cm (9.1 in) long. The crown and sides of head are emerald-green slightly tinged with blue, while the feathers of the back of the neck and throat and breast are yellow, broadly edged with green, giving scaly appearance. The tail is green with the base of the outer tail-feathers marked with orange-red. The lower flanks, thighs and undertail-coverts green are strongly marked with yellow, while the underwing-coverts are orange-red. They have orange-red eyes, and their bills (beaks) are dark coral-red. Their legs are generally grey-brown. Voice: Scaly-breasted lorikeets are extremely noisy birds and attract attention by their screeching and chattering. The contact call of these birds is a metallic, rolling, continuous screech in flight. They have a shrill chatter when feeding. While resting, they have a soft, gentle twitter. Although, these birds can be quite noisy as mating season draws nearer.

ID text from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0

Photo: John Robert McPherson · CC0

Where you might meet both

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Photos and recordings are credited to their authors under the licence shown. Full profiles: Australian Ringneck and Scaly-breasted Lorikeet.