Scaly-breasted Lorikeet
Trichoglossus chlorolepidotus
The Scaly-breasted Lorikeet (Trichoglossus chlorolepidotus) is a uncommon old world parrot found only in Australia, weighing about 87 g. The scaly-breasted lorikeet is an Australian lorikeet found in woodland in eastern Australia.
About the Scaly-breasted Lorikeet
The scaly-breasted lorikeet is an Australian lorikeet found in woodland in eastern Australia. The common name aptly describes this bird, which has yellow breast feathers broadly edged with green that look like scales.
Text adapted from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
How to identify it
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.
Where it lives
When to see it
The Scaly-breasted Lorikeet can be seen all year round, with peak activity in October. It is a resident species across most of its range.
Easily confused with
Quick questions
- How do you identify a Scaly-breasted Lorikeet?
- The scaly-breasted lorikeet is about 23 cm (9.1 in) long. Full identification notes are on this page.
- How big is a Scaly-breasted Lorikeet?
- The Scaly-breasted Lorikeet is a medium sized bird weighing about 87 g.
- Where can you see a Scaly-breasted Lorikeet?
- The Scaly-breasted Lorikeet is endemic to Australia, which is the only country where it occurs.
- What birds look similar to a Scaly-breasted Lorikeet?
- The Scaly-breasted Lorikeet is most easily confused with the Red-collared Lorikeet, the Olive-headed Lorikeet and the Yellow-cheeked Lorikeet.
- Is the Scaly-breasted Lorikeet endangered?
- The Scaly-breasted Lorikeet is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List.
Learn the Scaly-breasted Lorikeet for real
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