Bird Guide

Red-collared Lorikeet vs Scaly-breasted Lorikeet

Red-collared Lorikeet (Trichoglossus rubritorquis)

Red-collared Lorikeet

Trichoglossus rubritorquis

Medium113 gForest

The red-collared lorikeet measures around 26 centimetres (10 in) long. The feathers of the head and throat are dark brown with blue shafts. There is an orange-red band on the back of the neck. The chest is orange with red. The base of the hindneck is dark blue. The wings are green. The bill is red. The legs and feet are grey-brown. The sexes are similar in plumage while the juvenile has duller plumage and a dark bill. The red-collared lorikeet is distinguished from the rainbow lorikeet by the latter's green rather than red nape, the lack of a blue mantle and more yellow-green underparts.

ID text from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0

Photo: Duncan Rawlinson from Vancouver, BC · 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: Red-collared Lorikeet and Scaly-breasted Lorikeet.